Fight One Half: Origins
by Snafu the Great
Summary: On hold. Currently rewriting.
1. Prologue

Fight One Half: Origins

A Street Fighter/Ranma ½ crossover fanfiction

By The Headcrook

Legal Disclaimer: Street Fighter (characters and locations) belongs to Capcom, while Ranma ½ (characters and locations) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. In effect, this fanfic bridges the events before and after Fight Hina (in the Love Hina section) with Fight One Half. Origins is basically a prequel to One Half, so enjoy. Also, the characters are slightly OOC, and various techniques and origins are revealed.

_**Prologue**_

Ansatsuken Dojo - Kuwata, Japan – One year before the Jusendou incident (and one year before the Hinata interim job)...

The three men and one teenage girl watched as the two warriors, one Japanese and male and the other, who was Chinese and female faced off in the dojo. The man was dressed in a simple grey-black karate dogi, the sleeves ripped off showing off his muscular arms, while the attractive female was dressed in a one-piece blue-and-white tracksuit and matching vest.

_"Once you mastered yourself, come to Japan and find me at the Ansatsuken dojo outside of Tokyo. I will grant you your rematch."_

For the past eight months, Chun Li Xiang had trained and trained whenever she wasn't working at Interpol. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, Ryu was right. Her mind was so clouded with hate that she wouldn't have gotten passed General Bison. The first time she had fought against him was during the Zero Tournaments four years earlier. She thought she had killed him then, since Bison's own arrogance proved to be his downfall.

But Bison had resurfaced and lured his enemies to compete in the Second World Warrior Tournament. Ryu also competed, and this time around, Ryu had defeated Chun Li in order to face Bison.

Now, her mind was clear as she faced off against her opponent, one Ryu Houshi. Her face a mask of determination, she turned to the two Ansatsuken grandmasters, Gouken and Gouki – known to those close to him as Akuma - and bowed, as did Ryu before turning and bowing to each other. Ryu's student, Sakura Kasugano and his friend, Ken Masters, looked on with worried expressions on their faces.

Gouken raised one hand...then brought it down. "Ready? HAJIME!"

The audience watched as the two martial artist fought tooth and nail, each delivering blow after blow as the fight raged on. As the fight continued, Chun Li got a good look at Ryu's eyes. They were shining, as if he enjoyed testing his skill in the heat of battle!

That was a distraction since Ryu was now spinning in the air, Chun Li getting a close-up view of his foot as it connected with the side of her face, sending the young woman spinning to the ground. Chun Li flipped to her feet in order to avoid the knee to the face and flipped upside down, legs extended in a split, spinning, striking Ryu repeatedly, forcing him back.

At that moment, Chun Li capitalized...and at the same time, made her mistake.

Flipping forward in a handspring, Chun Li brought her foot down on Ryu, only she missed his head and nailed him in the shoulder. Ryu grunted in pain as he felt his shoulder being dislocated upon impact.

That was when the pain in her ankle started upon impacting his shoulder, causing Chun Li to cry out in pain as she landed on her good foot before stumbling to the ground.

Almost immediately, Gouken, Gouki and the younger Ansatsuken fighters were tending to the two injured fighters. Ken was successful in popping Ryu's arm back into place, while Gouken carried Chun Li to one of the guest rooms.

* * *

Pain was nothing to Chun Li. Then again, her body was sore all over, mostly at her ankle. Groaning to herself, she opened her eyes. She saw that she was inside her guest room at the dojo, and that she was still in her tracksuit with her injured ankle heavily bandaged.

She also saw that she wasn't alone in her room. Ryu was there, seated in a chair, dressed in a simple black T-shirt and denim pants. His injured arm was in a sling, the end result of Chun Li's slip-up in her missed Seneshu. His face was also bruised and battered but despite of that, Chun Li knew that he was attractive in a rugged sort of way.

Ryu turned to her. "You're finally awake," he said, giving her a small grin that was borderline roguish Chun Li also noticed that he spoke perfect English, with no hint of an accent. "You slept like the dead."

Chun Li managed to assume a sitting position. "How long was I out?" she asked, also in English, albeit with a Hong Kong accent.

"A day." He smiles at her again, a complete contrast to the fighting machine that has bested her twice in combat. "I really should thank you, Inspector. It's been a while since someone's made me fight with my all."

"It's Chun Li," she replied. "My name is Chun Li."

"Chun Li..." Ryu repeated. "'Spring Beauty.' Nice name." He gave her that same grin upon seeing her shocked face. "Surprised? I'm fluent in several languages, including Chinese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese and several others. Pretty helpful when you're on the open road."

He pointed to her bandaged ankle. "You cracked your ankle in our last match. You need some time to heal." He stood up. "Consider yourself a guest of the Ansatsuken Dojo. If you need anything, feel free to ask." He pointed to a pair of crutches nearby. "Those are for you, should you need to get around the place. If you excuse me, I got to stop Gouki from trying to kill my student."

Ryu exited the room, leaving Chun Li alone. She looked at her bandaged ankle and sighed. She haven't lost the battle, since it had ended in a draw when they both were injured, which made her slightly better.

Despite Chun Li having detailed files on Ryu's friends and enemies, the Ansatsuken warrior himself was an enigma to all. His fighting abilities were second to none, which was why Bison wanted him as his right-hand man.

Chun Li's mind went back to that climatic fight when she had fought Bison the first time. She was only eighteen, a fresh-faced rookie within the International Criminal Police Organization. While Ryu had his hands full with fighting Sagat, Chun Li had tracked Bison down just as he was boarding his personal VTOL, having lost his Psycho Drive. Bison was weakened by the lost of his secret weapon, but that didn't stop him.

* * *

"_FREEZE!"_

_Bison turned around, his cape covering most of his massive frame. Imagine his shock that he found himself staring at the young girl whose father he killed, not to mention looking down the business end of a Beretta semi-automatic pistol._

_Chun Li had the gun aimed right between the eyes. "General Bison, you are under arrest."_

"_Is that so?" Bison sneered. "You are just like your father." He stepped down from his VTOL. "How fitting it would be that I now send his bitch of a daughter to meet him in the afterlife!"_

_Chun Li tossed the gun aside and went into her fighting stance. "I'll save myself the paperwork and kill you myself!"_

* * *

The fight was brutal. Even without his Psycho Drive powering him, Bison was just as deadly. Chun Li, however, was trained by both Master Gen and her grandmother, knowing several styles of Kung Fu and Kempo. Bison thought he had her scouted, but Chun Li was full of surprises.

Chun Li, using an unknown and forbidden style of her family's Kung Fu, had used crippling blows on Bison, who absorbed them until Chun Li shattered both his right knee and his left arm.

* * *

_Bison roared in both anger and extreme pain as he felt his knee literally explode from the impact of Chun Li's machine gun-like kicks. He knew that several of his ribs were broken and without his Psycho Drive, he was good as dead._

"_You are strong, little girl," Bison growled, "but everyone has their price. Spare my life, and I will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams!"_

_Breathing hard, Chun Li replied, "Money? Power? Anything that I ask for?"_

"_Yes! Anything you ask for! I will grant it."_

_Chun Li's response to that was to slam her foot in Bison's face as hard as she can, sending the nose right into his brain. The Chinese female watched in grim satisfaction as Bison let out his death rattle as he fell over, dead. _

"_I want my father back, you son-of-a-bitch," she hissed as she walked from his body._

* * *

'I thought that I had avenged my father,' Chun Li thought as she looked at her injured ankle. 'But then I got that invitation to the World Warrior Tournament, and that bastard openly taunted me in my invite.'

Deciding that even Chun Li needed help, she teamed up with William Guile, an Air Force officer whose friend was killed by Bison and Cammy White, a former Shadowlaw assassin, now working for British Intelligence. The wild cards in the tournament were Ryu Houshi and his friend, Ken Masters. Bison had sent his lieutenant, the Spanish Ninja Vega to kill Chun Li, but he had failed.

While Chun Li had been occupied with Vega, Ryu had went on to fight Bison. By the time Chun Li had put down Vega and had rushed to the location where Bison was waiting with Guile and Cammy in tow, they saw Ryu and Ken fighting both Bison and Balrog, another of Bison's lieutenants. Ken had defeated Balrog, while Ryu fought Bison.

As the three watched in shock, Ryu unleashed one of the most deadliest attacks in the Ansatsuken School – the Twin Fists of Death – on the Shadowlaw warlord. Better known as the Shinshoryuken, the first blows had caused massive internal bleeding, while the final blow breaking Bison's neck, ending the life of the Shadowlaw general once and for all.

While Guile and Cammy were elated that Bison was finally dead, since he had key figures in law enforcement and various judicial elements under his control, and would probably escape justice. Seeing Bison dead had the diametric opposite for Chun Li.

She was downright furious.

In the three months following the tournament's conclusion, Ryu was sent to Tokyo General under guard and in secret. Ryu's fight with Bison had left him with a broken wrist and two broken fingers. Ryu would go on and recover.

But Chun Li wasn't going to let this slight go. To her, it was more than honor. It was revenge, plain and simple. Which was why when she found out that Ryu was visiting Hong Kong, she sent a letter of challenge to him, demanding that he face her in combat.

He accepted.

And she lost.

Which was one of the reasons why she was in Japan. The other? Several of the I.C.P.O.'s agents were on Bison's payroll and with the destruction of Shadowlaw, Chun Li found herself a target. Several of her loyal friends had set her up inside a safe house in Tokyo, but that location was already scouted.

Which was why she was at a dojo in Japan. Both to fight Ryu and to preserve her own life. She could have went to her grandmother's village in the western regions of China, but chose not to. She loved her grandmother dearly, but given the fact that she was raised in the city, and that her late mother's mother was a bit...eclectic, she was an outsider.

So Chun Li went to Japan, while those who wanted her either dead or disgraced thought she was somewhere in Europe, either in London working on a joint operation with Cammy's unit, or in Paris, where the world headquarters of Interpol was located.

Following her first loss to Ryu, Chun Li was part of the team assigned to clean up any and all remnants of Shadowlaw's presence in Hong Kong. Knowing full well that Chun Li's team would find out who inside Interpol's Hong Kong division was on Shadowlaw's payroll, they set her up and in the ensuing chaos, several agents were injured in the following raid and Chun Li was blamed for the screwup, which ended with her suspension until an inquiry would make their final decision.

With Chun Li out of the way at Interpol, she became a target. When her apartment was firebombed while she was visiting Gen, Chun Li decided to leave Hong Kong and lay low. Knowing that Chun Li was going to Japan to challenge Ryu, Gen called in a favor to the Ansatsuken Dojo. As Chun Li found out later, Gen was friends with Ryu and Ken's two masters, which was easy enough to allow Chun Li to stay as she recovered from her injury.

Little did they know that this was just the beginning.

A.N.: The town of Kuwata is not a real town in Japan. The name Kuwata comes from the name Kong Kuwata, known as the voice of Geese Howard in the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series.


	2. Chapter One

_**Chapter One**_

Three weeks later...

The Ansatsuken School was formerly a two-story Shinto temple located at the base of the mountain fortress known as Suzaku Castle which was located in the small tourist town of Kuwata, 10 miles south of Tokyo. The temple was abandoned until Goutetsu came across it, renovated it and rechristened it as the Ansatsuken Dojo. When Goutetsu died, ownership passed onto both Gouken and Gouki, his two pupils.

At the moment, Chun Li was seated in the dojo's porch as she watched Ryu. In the three weeks following their match, both fighters had recovered from their injuries, although Chun Li was walking with a slight limp. The limp would be gone in several days, but Chun Li was playing it safe as she watched Ryu perform a kata with nothing but a Japanese sword.

As Chun Li later found out, Ryu was also an expert in Japanese sword fighting, mainly the style known as Ansatsuken Shinjutsu. Based on the Ansatsuken philosophy of 'one strike, one kill,' Ansatsuken Shinjutsu was a required study to whoever practiced the Ansatsuken fighting style. Chun Li watched as Ryu went through his kata. The sword he wielded was a Masamune, the cobalt-blue blade slightly longer, making people mistaken it as a O-katana.

The Masamune, which was given to Ryu once he had made Shihan rank shortly after Chun Li's arrival, was one of the priceless heirlooms in the Ansatsuken School. As Chun Li remembered the ceremony in which Ryu was presented the Masamune, it was one of the high points of her stay.

* * *

Flashback

_In order for Ryu to gain Shihan status, he had to defeat the current grandmaster of Ansatsuken Shinjutsu, which was Gouki. The battle was indeed brutal. Armed with nothing but steel-lined bokkens, teacher and student tore into each other as Ken, Gouken, Chun Li and Sakura watched. Also watching the battle as a witness was Guy._

_As Chun Li found out, Guy was the head of the Bushinryuu Ninja Clan. Both Ryu and Guy were longtime friends, as well as rivals. Chun Li found out that Guy had trained Ryu in Bushinryuu speed techniques (which explained how Ryu was able to parry over three hundred kicks from her Hykaretsu Kyaku without breaking a sweat), while Ryu taught Guy the Hurricane Kick. Guy went on to modify the technique to meet his standards. _

_The fight had taken both Ryu and Gouki all over the grounds of the Ansatsuken School, but in the end, Ryu was the victor, having disarmed Gouki of his weapon and was holding it in his own hand, having crisscrossed the blades against Akuma's throat._

_After a moment, Akuma conceded defeat. Ryu was now the Shihan of Ansatsuken-ryu Shinjutsu, second only to Gouken and Akuma._

_The ceremony soon followed inside the training hall. Clad in a formal hakama, a bandaged Ryu knelt before Gouken and an equally battered Akuma. Both grandmasters were still in their respective gis, Gouken holding a slender bundle wrapped in cloth. The look on both men's faces was that of great pride._

_Akuma stepped forward and placed one hand on Ryu's shoulder. "Be without fear in the face of your enemies," the dark master began. "Be brave and upright so the gods above may favor and love you. Always speak the truth, even in the face of death. Protect the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath. Do you accept?"_

"_I accept," Ryu replied._

_Chun Li and Sakura winced slightly as Akuma backhanded Ryu, the latter merely shrugging off the blow._

"_And that is so you remember it," Akuma added. Turning to his brother, he received the bundle and ordered Ryu to rise to his feet. "Money cannot buy the honor which you have earned tonight. You make us all proud."_

_Akuma handed the bundle over to Ryu, who accepted it with a bow. Akuma responded with a nod. Turning Ryu to face the audience, he announced, "I present to you Houshi Ryu, Shihan of Ansatsuken Shinjutsu."_

End Flashback

* * *

That was a week ago. Since then, Ryu had been training Not anything heavy, since he was still recovering from his fight with Akuma, but menial exercises.

Then he went and got his sword.

Chun Li watched as Ryu went through his kata. There was no wasted movement, no flaws in his skill. As Chun Li knew, Ryu lived and breathed Ansatsuken when it came down to a fight. They had also been getting along better as well. Chun Li had asked for his forgiveness following her actions back in Hong Kong, but Ryu shrugged her off, saying that there was nothing to forgive. After all, she was angry and even he knew she didn't mean what she had said.

On the bright side, she had received a call from her superiors back in Hong Kong. Turns out that she was cleared of any wrongdoing, following the investigation. Things, however, were still too hot, given the fact that during the investigation against herself, Chun Li had faxed a list of names of those crooked agents formerly on Shadowlaw's payroll. So Chun Li was on extended leave with pay, for her own safety.

She continued to watch Ryu as he continued his kata with the sword. After several minutes, Ryu finishes and sheathes the weapon.

"Never figured you would fight with a weapon," Chun Li said as she approached Ryu.

"Most of the time, I don't," Ryu replied. "But I like to keep in practice."

Chun Li extended her hand. "May I?"

Ryu nodded and handed the sword over to Chun Li, who unsheathes it and inspects it with a martial artist's eye. "This is beautiful. Muramasa?"

Ryu shook his head. "Masamune, slightly modified. Ever heard of the story about the contest between Muramasa and Masamune?"

Chun Li shook her head.

"In actuality, both Muramasa and Masamune lived in different periods in Japanese history," Ryu explained, "but the legend is one that we Japanese tend to cherish. The legend states that Muramasa challenged Masamune to see who could make the better sword. After working tirelessly and endlessly, the swords were finished and they decided to test the results. Muramasa's sword was called the _Juuchi Fuyu_, or Ten Thousand Winters, while Masamune's sword was named the _Yawaraka-Te_, or Tender Hands.

"The two masters suspended the blades into a stream, with the bladed ends facing the current. Now, the contest is told differently, one version states that the _Juuchi Fuyu_ sliced anything in its path from leaves to fish, even the air, but not one leaf nor fish was disturbed by the _Yawaraka-Te_. Another version states that both blades sliced the leaves clean butt stuck to the_ Juuchi Fuyu's_ blade while the leaves that were cut from the _Yawaraka-Te_ reformed downstream.

"Muramasa thought he had won the contest and was ridiculing his master for his apparent lack of skill in the making of his sword, while Masamune simply recovered his sword and sheathed it, smiling to himself. A Buddhist monk who witnessed the contest explained what he had seen to the two sword masters. He said that the _Juuchi Fuyu_ was indeed a fine sword, but the blade was bloodthirsty, since it sliced through anything put in its path. The _Yawaraka-Te_ was the finer of the two, since it doesn't needlessly cut anything that is innocent and undeserving. Since then, the Muramasa has gained a reputation for being such a dark weapon, while the Masamune was the exact opposite – something holy."

"And this sword here?" Chun Li asked.

"It's been in the Ansatsuken School since its creation. The blade was made from a rare metal in the northern regions of Hokkaido, hence its cobalt color. The blade is indestructible, having been forged from inside a Shinto temple. So in effect, it's considered a holy weapon."

"It's beautiful," Chun Li said. "The blade is perfectly balanced. The weight is light. This is truly a work of art," she said as she sheathed the sword. "You doing anything today?"

"Edmond Honda's given me tickets for his sumo match. After that, Akuma's sending me to run an errand for him. He has his eyes set on a Muramasa down in some antiques shop down in Azuban-Juuban. Why?"

Chun Li shrugged her shoulders. "Now that Interpol's cleared me, I feel like going out somewhere and celebrate."

"Sure. I could use the company. Let me change clothes first."

* * *

Following the sumo tournament (in which Honda defended his title with some difficulty), Ryu treated Chun Li to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo's Chinatown. Both were dressed in casual attire; Chun Li in a sleeveless white Chinese-style shirt and denim jeans, her hair in her trademark 'ox-horns' and secured with several ribbons, her handgun tucked behind her back, while Ryu was dressed in something more practical: a T-shirt with the words '**TITANIC 1912 SWIM TEAM**' on the front, cargo pants and a pair of hiking boots. What surprised Chun Li was the fact that he went without his hakimachi.

The two martial artists were seated at a booth, Chun Li watching in amusement as Ryu was on his third bowl of ramen. "I'm surprised you're not as big as Honda. You got one hell of an appetite."

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "Well...given my training regimen, I stay in shape. That and according to the doctors, I burn my metabolism faster. Of course, Honda and I both had our share of eating contests back when we were younger. He would win most of them," he added with a wry grin.

"This is the first time I've seen you without your student," Chun Li noted. "Last time I saw her was two years ago back in the Zero tournaments."

Ryu nodded. "She was fifteen the first time I met her. She wanted me to train her in Ansatsuken. I refused, but before the last tournament, I conceded and took her on as my student. Kasugano is a bit hot-headed at times, but she is a good kid."

"Never thought I would see you take on a apprentice."

"I thought the same as well. But after coming back from my world tour, I wanted to do something else. Sakura's family moved to Okayama and since she didn't want to leave her school and friends, I talked with her parents and with their permission, I became her de facto guardian, as well as her sempai in the martial arts."

"Speaking of tournaments, why was Sagat pissed at you?"

"You noticed the big scar on his chest?" Ryu asked.

Chun Li nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda hard to miss." Off Ryu's expression, Chun Li put two and two together. "Wait...you gave him that scar?"

Ryu mock-clapped. "Excellent detective work, Inspector Xiang. You deserve a cookie," he said sarcastically. "It's true. The scar on his chest was my fault. I won the first World Warrior tournament by a fluke, and I ended up scarring Sagat for life. Not one of my best moments."

As Ryu said this, he thought back on that fateful day in Thailand when he scarred the one-eyed giant with a Dark Hadou-powered Shoryuken. Sagat had nearly died from the blow and upon his recovery, had joined Shadowlaw.

"We managed to make a truce of sorts," Ryu continued. "I had found out that Sagat was in the hospital in Bangkok and I found him there. This was before I fought you in Hong Kong. We never had a chance to fight once again, since there was some outside interference from a Musk scouting party." He leaned back in his seat, catching Chun Li's slightly stunned expression upon hearing the word 'Musk.' "Enough about me. This conversation is becoming one-sided. What about you?"

"As you already know, my father was a Hong Kong police detective," Chun Li replied, recovering from her shock. "My mother was a nurse. I also have a grandmother, who lives in western China, near the Bayankala Mountains. Both my parents and my grandmother are martial artists, so I learned several styles growing up. My mom died when I was twelve, and you know what happened to my father. I guess because of him I wanted to become a law enforcement officer. So I went to college, majored in both Physical Education and Criminology. What about you? You went to school?"

"I did," Ryu replied. "I graduated from Waseda University, then continued my education at Tokyo University."

Chun Li frowned. "You must be some kind of prodigy, right?"

"Nope. Genius."

The Chinese woman's eyes blinked audibly. "You? A genius? You're joking, right? You, Mr. 'The-fight-is-all,' a genius?"

Ryu grinned as he finished off an eggroll. "Shocking, I know. Most people doesn't know about that piece of info about me. Only Ken and his family, as well as Gouken, Gouki and Sakura know. I got a degree in Physical Education from Waseda, and a History degree from Toudai. All before I turned fourteen. I graduated from two of Japan's most respectable universities with an IQ of 197."

Chun Li did a perfect impression of a fish, her mouth opening, then closing until she finally got control over herself. "But...if you're so smart, then why aren't you working for some big Japanese zaibatsu?"

"No one was interested in hiring a whiz kid, and I wanted more out of life than to be a stiff-necked executive or salaryman. Martial arts is my passion, and I want to open up a dojo, but no parent would send their children to a school whose name translates into Assassin's Fist."

"So what is Ansatsuken?" Chun Li asked.

"An original style created by Sheng Long, the founder of the school based on the principles of five fighting styles: Taekwondo, Judo, Akido, Kyokushin and Shotokan Karate. Ken and I took the time to study the five styles to get a better understanding of the style, not to mention enhancing what we already know. Kinda like a sculptor who doesn't keep adding clay to a statue, but removes the inessentials until the truth is revealed."

"So instead of being a smart-ass prodigy," Chun Li concluded, "you became a martial arts prodigy."

Ryu nodded. "Yup. A martial arts prodigy with more rivals and enemies to fill a phone book with," he added with a grin.

Chun Li couldn't help but to laugh at that. In most cases, Ryu was right.

* * *

It should have been easy enough. Go to the antiques store, pick up the Muramasa for Akuma, then go back home.

The first two tasks were done with no problem.

As Ryu and Chun Li were on their way back to the train station...

* * *

Pandemonium reigned supreme as the populace of Azuban-Juuban fled in terror of the rampaging youma. Most were behind locked doors, praying that the monster would not break in and kill them all.

Chun Li looks at the...thing that was rampaging through the town. Fortunately, everyone was behind locked doors, so as long as they were inside, they were safe. The...thing was humanoid, standing over six feet tall, looking like a freaky combination of a Greek satyr and a lizardman..and completely homicidal to boot.

Gripping the handle of her Beretta M92F custom handgun tightly in her hands, she turned to Ryu. "What the hell is that thing?"

"That is a youma," Ryu replied casually. "They are quite frequent in Juuban, for some odd reason." He looked at the gun that Chun Li was holding. "That peashooter will just..."

Ryu was cut off as Chun Li aimed her gun and fired, emptying the entire clip into the youma, who just bellowed in rage as the bullets tore through him with no effect.

"...piss him off," Ryu finished, just as he watched the youma strong-arm a car with one hand.

"No...no way!" Chun Li said as she ejected the clip and slapped another one in. "Those shots were at vital points! How could—WHOA!"

She was cut off as Ryu tackled her to the ground, just as the tossed car sailed past where they both were standing moments earlier, crashing through the display window of a clothes store.

"Wait here," Ryu commanded, shoving the Muramasa in Chun Li's hands. "I'll deal with him." When it looked like Chun Li was going to object, Ryu added, "Trust me on this."

Ryu stood up and faced the monster. The youma roared at him and started to advance on him, intent on making Ryu his meal.

One hand balled into a fist, Ryu waited until the youma was five feet away. Then, as Chun Li watched, Ryu punched the ground, hard.

**KA-BOOM!**

The street underneath the youma exploded with the force of a Claymore landmine, sending the beast, as well as jagged chunks of asphalt and metal pipe into the air.

The youma landed on the hood of another parked car, before falling to the ground...missing both legs and a arm, bleeding profusely from numerous deep cuts. The youma bellowed pitifully as it tried to use its remaining limb to get away.

Only Ryu didn't let it go. Ryu took the Muramasa from Chun Li and drew the blade out. In one deft move, Ryu decapitated the youma, putting it out of its misery. The Japanese warrior wiped the blade off and resheathed the weapon before walking back to a shocked Chun Li. The dead youma, in the meantime, turned to nothing but a pile of dust.

As Ryu beheaded the youma, Chun Li's mind was racing. 'That move...I saw Grandmother perform it...or something like that. It can't be...'

"You okay?"

Ryu's voice snapped Chun Li out of her line of thought. "Yeah. I'm fine. That move you did...what the hell was that?"

"One of the few sealed moves of the Ansatsuken School," Ryu explained. "If Gouken and Gouki found out that I used it, much less mastered it, then I would never hear the end of it."

"So what is it?" Chun Li demanded, praying that the move was something else.

"It's called the Breaking Point Technique – The _Bakusai Tenketsu_," Ryu replied, looking around. "That youma is not alone. If what Gouki told me about youma is true, then its friends will be showing up soon."

Chun Li didn't hear the second part of what Ryu had told her. Her mind was on what Ryu had told her. Needless to say she was shocked as to what Ryu had told her. 'THAT'S the _Bakusai Tenketsu_?! Impossible!'

Her chain of thought was interrupted as her enhanced hearing picked up the unmistakable sound of firearms being armed.

"MOVE!" Chun Li screamed as she tackled Ryu, sending them both across the hood of a parked car and onto the other side, just as gunfire erupted, riddling the car with bullets.

Once the gunfire stopped, Ryu and Chun Li peeked out. Standing on the other side of the street, were four men and one woman. One of the men and the woman was dressed in police uniforms, whereas the other three men were dressed in suits. At least, that's what it looked like, since their clothes were shredded in various places.

Their skin was pale and bloodied, their faces in an eternal mask of hatred, the eyes crying tears of blood, not to mention the missing chunks of flesh from their bodies, as if something had eaten them.

Ryu and Chun Li ducked as the gunfire resumed. "Great," Ryu muttered. "Shibito."

Chun Li looked at him. "What?"

"Shibito," Ryu repeated. "'Walking corpse.' Ever seen those American movies about the walking dead? Shibito are the Japanese version of a zombie. Most Shibito have a tiny portion of intelligence which allows them to perform certain tasks. If they are disturbed, then they will have the urge to kill. If any of the Shibito have firearms, then they are more dangerous." He motioned to the Shibito firing squad. "Those must be the missing Yakuza and the police officers we've heard about in the news. Looks like they had a run-in with that youma."

Chun Li peeked out from behind the car for a moment before ducking back. ".38 Police Specials and Beretta 93s. Nasty. Any ideas?"

"You can shoot them, but that will stop them temporary," Ryu explained."Only way to stop a youma-spawned Shibito is by using a blade." Ryu unsheathed the Muramasa once again. "How good are you with the gun?"

"Crackshot, ranked fourth in international competition."

"Disarm the Shibito," Ryu ordered. "I'll do the rest."

Chun Li nodded. Once the Shibito were reloading their weapons, Chun Li aimed and fired five times, each time knocking the Shibito's firearm out of their hands.

Before they could rush Chun Li and tear her limb from limb, Ryu was there. Sword at the ready, Ryu charged headlong into the Shibito.

"Ansatsuken Shinjutsu final attack...Zantetsuken!!"

Five flashes. That was all that Chun Li had seen. Ryu had moved too fast for the eye to follow. The Shibito were frozen in place as Ryu slashed through them. Looking at the stunned Shibito, Ryu flung the coagulated blood off the blade and in one smooth move, sheathed the Muramasa. Upon hearing the clicking noise, the Shibito was reduced to bloody chunks of rotting flesh and bone.

It was finally over.

Ryu had not gotten through the battle unscathed. One of the bullets have grazed his arm, leaving a light wound. Aside from that, Ryu was alive. Chun Li swallowed visibly. She had no idea that Ryu was that skilled with a sword. But more importantly, Chun Li had discovered that he knew a technique that only certain people knew.

This was far from over.

* * *

"You are not off the hook yet, Ryu Houshi."

"Damn it, Li, I told you the truth about that technique."

The argument attracted the attention of Gouki, Gouken and Sakura, who were inside the dojo. When the elder Ansatsuken warriors and Ryu's apprentice exited the dojo, they saw a battered Ryu, followed by a slightly peeved Chun Li walk across the courtyard.

Chun Li stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "You still haven't told me where you have learned the _Bakusai Tenketsu_."

"I told you that the technique was in the Ansatsuken School for over four hundred years. Sheng Long himself created the move. What I did was the non-lethal version, which Sheng Long taught to several Chinese and Korean road workers in order to clear pathways."

"Ryu..."

Ryu slightly winced at the tone in Gouken's voice. The Ansatsuken grandmaster stood on the dojo's walkway, arms folded, irritation evident on his face. The look on Ryu's face read 'Oh, crap,' as he turned to face his peeved master. Gouki, was curious as to how Ryu managed to learn the Breaking Point.

"Am I hearing Chun Li right?" Gouken demanded. "You have learned one of the sealed moves of our school? The _Bakusai Tenketsu_ was sealed for a reason."

"It was Ken's idea," Ryu defended. "He came across the scrolls soon after we came back from the first World Warrior tournament. If it mens anything, I rarely use the technique."

Gouken turned to Chun Li. "And how do you know about the Breaking Point?"

"The Breaking Point has been part of the Joketsuzoku for over three hundred years, Master Gouken," Chun Li replied. Beating anyone else to the punch, Chun Li continued on. "My grandmother is one of the tribe's matriarchs. My departed mother was also part of the tribe..."

She then turned to Ryu. "...as am I."


	3. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

"Joketsuzoku, huh?" Ryu repeated. "I thought I recognized some of their moves. Your grandmother must have taught you the Joketsuzoku style of martial arts. Looks a lot like Kempo."

Right now, the four martial artists were inside, having tea. Ryu had told Gouken and Gouki about his and Chun Li's run-in with both the youma and the Shibito. Gouken was shocked upon hearing how his adopted son/student and their guest had narrowly avoided death, seeing Ryu's use of the Breaking Point was justified, thus sparing the retribution he had planned for his student.

"I've never heard of the Joketsuzoku before," Sakura said, obviously interested. "Ryu's told about some pretty strange things that he experienced during his travels, but never about the Joketsuzoku. What are they?"

This time, Gouki spoke. "You read about the Amazons, right?"

Sakura nodded. "They were the tribe of female warriors back in Ancient Greece, right? Real hardcore fighters."

"Yes," Chun Li said. "The Joketsuzoku, or in my language, the Nyuchezu, are the Chinese version of the Greek Amazons."

"In fact," Ryu continued, "the Joketsuzoku's origins are Greek in nature. About three thousand years ago, the Amazons were on the losing end of a war between rival Greek factions. The surviving members, one hundred in total, fled Greece, becoming refugees. It would be about a year when they reached China. By that time, only seventy of the original survivors have remained from the original one hundred. They arrived at a small village in what is now Qinghai Province, near the Bakanyla Mountains, where the majority of the village men have been slaughtered by raiding bandits. The Amazons taught the village women how to fight, and the women incorporated the Amazon's fighting techniques with their Kung Fu. Thus, the Joketsuzoku were created."

Chun Li looked at Ryu. "You sure know a lot about my tribe."

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a history buff. That and the Ansatsuken School keeps detailed records on who we teach our techniques to. I also know how the Chinese Amazons came to know the Breaking Point. As the Ansatsuken Dojo celebrated its one hundredth year, a young Chinese Amazon crossed the Sea of Japan and came to Japan during the Warring States era during her training journey.

"She had came across the Ansatsuken Dojo, which was located in the Kansai region at the time, and had asked the dojo grandmaster – Sheng Long's great-granddaughter – to allow her to stay and train. That Chinese Amazon learned the _Bakusai Tenketsu_ and brought it back to the Chinese Amazons. The warrior's name was Cologne."

* * *

At that moment, in the village of the Joketsuzoku, a 300-year-old woman perched on top of a cane sneezed.

"Hmm...someone must be talking about me," she mused.

* * *

"However," Ryu continued, "Cologne learned only the non-lethal version of the move, since the _Shin Bakusai Tenketsu_ can do more than just destroy inanimate objects. The _Shin Bakusai Tenketsu_ was designed to fragment the bones inside a human body, causing the victim to bleed internally, and in all cases, die painfully."

"So these Chinese Amazons sound like they are good fighters," Sakura said. "I would like to fight with one of them."

Ryu shook his head. "Out of the question, Kasugano. The Amazons are a prideful bunch, and defeating them in combat brings...complications, of which I was able to avoid when I visited the village."

Off Sakura's confused look, Ryu explained, "Should a foreign woman defeat an Amazon in combat, they are given the 'Kiss of Death,' meaning that the Amazon tracks the woman down and kill her. If the Amazon is defeated by a man, he is given the 'Kiss of Marriage,' meaning that the Amazon must take him as her husband."

"And if a Chinese Amazon fails to complete either task, then she is forced to go over her training once again," Chun Li said.

Ryu nodded. "Should a man already have a wife, then the Amazon sees her only as an obstacle, someone in the way of her rightful husband."

"Or as my grandmother would say, 'Obstacles are meant for one thing...they are to be removed,'" Chun Li said.

It took Sakura a moment to catch the meaning of the statement and paled slightly. "You mean...?" she squeaked.

Chun Li nodded. "The woman who the Amazons see as an obstacle are killed. Fortunately, I follow the rules of the modern world, not those of the Joketsuzoku, otherwise I'd have given Ryu the Kiss of Marriage already for defeating me. My mother was the same when she and Baba started dating." Turning to Ryu, she asked, "So when did you arrived at the village?"

Ryu thought about it for a moment. "About two months before the last tournament," Ryu replied. "It was near the Jusenkyou Training Grounds when I came across an injured Joketsuzoku scout. I tended to her wounds, and carried her back to the village and the matriarchs welcomed me. I stayed there for about a week as a guest of one of the village elders. Her name was Lotion."

At the sound of that name, Chun Li perked up. "Lo Shen? Shorter than me, gray hair, dresses in blue robes, fights with a staff?"

"Yeah, that's her. You know her?"

Chun Li nodded. "I should. She's my grandmother."

"I see now where you get the 'ox-horns' from," Ryu mused, referring to Chun Li's braided-and-bunned hairstyle. "So it was your grandmother who welcomed me into the village. Anyway, I've been traveling for several days and she allowed me to rest and recover. She was also kind enough to grant me full immunity from Amazon law, which kept the single girls at bay, since they were all looking for a strong husband. I'm just glad that Ken wasn't with me, otherwise he would have an Amazon chasing him back to San Francisco, and given the fact he is dating Eliza, then that would be disastrous, given the 'obstacle' rule."

"Who else knows about you being a Chinese Amazon?" Sakura asked.

"Aside from you three," Chun Li replied, "Master Gen, Fei Long, Cammy, and Gen's two charges, Yun and Yang."

"There's something else you're not telling me," Ryu said. "You know about the Musk Dynasty."

"Funny. So do you," Chun Li shot back.

"Musk Dynasty?" Sakura repeated. "You always run into some weird stuff in your travels. And what is Jusenkyou?"

"I've had my concerns. Back in the Zero tournaments, Ken and I witnessed your fight with Bison," Ryu said. "You were losing and would have been killed until you switched over to a style no one has seen before. It looked like an animal style of Kung Fu, tiger style. But I know it wasn't. That style was more on pure instinct, like a tiger stalking its prey. And today, you knew that the Shibito were preparing to open fire on the both of us. Even with my own senses, I did not sense them."

After looking at Ryu for a long moment, Chun Li chuckled mildly. "You should have been a detective, Ryu. It's true. Aside the Chinese Amazons, my family also has ties with the Musk Dynasty."

Now Gouken and Gouki were getting interested in the conversation.

"The style of Kung Fu I used on Bison was a forbidden and sealed style only used within my family," Chun Li explained. "Only someone with the blood of a tiger can use it." After a moment, Chun Li continued. "My great-great-great grandmother wasn't human. She was in fact, a Siberian tiger, captured in the wilds of Manchuria by the Musk and transformed into a woman by the cursed springs of Jusenkyou."

"To answer your earlier question, Kasugano," Ryu continued, "Jusenkyou is a hidden training ground located near the Joketsuzoku village. The training ground is a valley containing hundreds of springs with bamboo poles sticking out from the waters. Each of the springs are cursed by whoever drowned there. You fall in, then you acquire that curse. Cold water activates the curse while hot water reverses it, from what the Guide has told me. When I left the Chinese Amazons, I took a shortcut through the springs. No, I did not get cursed, since Jusenkyou-cursed people tend to be water magnets."

"Bison himself knew about the power of the cursed springs," Chun Li said. "He was particularly interested in the cursed spring known as in my language, the _Níuhèmánmáorénnìquán. _I'm glad he did not use them for his own purposes."

"Ni-wha?" Sakura blinked.

"Spring of Drowned Yeti-riding-Bull-carrying-Crane-and-Eel," Ryu translated. "I've heard rumors about someone being cursed by that spring. That is by far, one of the most dangerous of the Jusenkyou curses."

* * *

Somewhere in China, a monstrous muscular, chimera-like form which looked like a hairy minotaur with crane wings and an eel for a tail sneezed while in mid-flight.

'Is someone talking about me?' it wondered.

* * *

"So what is the Musk Dynasty?" Sakura asked.

Gouki cleared his throat. "The Musk are a patriarchal society, a group of ancient Chinese martial arts masters who are rumored to have been in existence for over fourteen centuries. The Musk are known to take extreme measures in mimicking the movements of wild animals. They capture a female wild animal, throw them into the _Nyannichuan_, or Spring of Drowned Girl, and lock their curse with a relic known as the Preservation Ladle, permanently keeping them in their cursed bodies. They would then mate with the cursed animals, and the females would give birth to offspring with the various animal attributes."

"Which explains why I am up to Ryu's level in strength," Chun Li added. "Not to mention the enhanced agility and senses. My ki-manipulation abilities leave something to be desired, given my Kikouken, but that's something I hope that can be remedied."

"So...you have the power and agility of a tiger?" Sakura surmised.

Chun Li nodded. "Bingo. My great-great-great grandmother was given as a bride to a Musk general, who was also descended from a Siberian tiger. She gave birth to my great-grandfather, Basil, who was a known healer and skilled martial artist amongst the Musk. It was in fact him who created the ultimate fighting technique known as the Neko-ken. The sealed style of Musk-Joketsuzoku style Tiger Kung Fu is basically the Neko-ken at its purest.

"During this time, the Joketsuzoku were at war with the warriors on Phoenix Mountain. One of the Chinese Amazons was severely injured and Basil tended to her wounds. Basil defended her from his own people and was banished as a result. So he moved near the Joketsuzoku. Once her wounds were healed, she challenged Basil to a match. Basil won and was given the 'Kiss of Marriage.' The union ended with the birth of my grandmother, Lo Shen."

"Who would give birth to your mother," Ryu concluded.

Chun Li nodded. "Yeah. So you see, my lineage is both Joketsuzoku and Musk."

It was at that moment both Ansatsuken grandmasters spoke "Neko-ken? You know the Neko-ken?"

"What's so bad about the Neko-ken?" Sakura asked.

"Only someone with tiger blood can use the style to its fullest, without the side effects," Chun Li explained. "However, someone managed to create a modified way of learning the technique. Only thing is you have to be a complete idiot to even try and use this method."

* * *

Inside a modest home in the Nerima ward of Japan, a panda seated in front of a Go board sneezed.

His human companion, a man clad in a brown gi looked up...after switching the panda's pieces around when it sneezed. "Bless you, Saotome."

The panda then whipped out a sign. _**Thank you, Tendou,**_ the sign read in Japanese. It then flipped the sign over. _**I think someone is talking about me.**_

* * *

"You take the trainee," Ryu continued, "who should be under six years old, wrap him in fish products and throw him into a pit of starving cats, and repeat if necessary. You either learn the technique or die trying. Should you learn the technique, you will develop a severe case of cat phobia which will eventually push you into the Neko-ken."

By this time, Sakura had turned into a nice shade of green and was off to the bathroom. The obvious sounds of Ryu's apprentice losing her lunch was evident.

Gouki snorted. "Sissy. Some apprentice, Ryu."

"Shut up, Uncle," Ryu shot back.

"So you know the Neko-ken," Gouken said.

Chun Li nodded. "Yes."

Ryu, Gouken and Gouki exchanged glances. Then they turned back to Chun Li. "Show us," they all said in unison.

* * *

Once Sakura had gotten the contents of her stomach under control, she joined the others outside. Standing several feet away from the four Ansatsuken fighters, Chun Li faced the other fighters before closing her eyes.

What she did next shocked everyone present.

The feral growl sent shivers down the four Japanese martial artists' spines as Chun Li slunk down on all fours as she submerged herself into the Neko-Ken. Her hair came out of her buns, framing her face, her eyes getting more feral.

"What the hell?" Sakura began.

"Don't make any sudden moves," Gouken ordered. "And watch your mouth. Chun Li is under the Neko-Ken."

Ryu produced several bokkens and even a training dummy and casually tossed them to Neko-Chun Li, who promptly reduced them to sawdust with several swipes of her hand.

"Gods below," Gouki whispered. "As I live and breathe...a real life practitioner of the Neko-Ken." Even the dark master of Ansatsuken knew that even with the Dark Hadou, the chance of surviving someone on a Neko-Ken Trip was very low.

Neko-Chun Li stood up and with her audience watching, she performed a kata. To anyone watching, it looked like the Tiger style of Wushu Kung Fu. But given the recent revelations that Chun Li had told about herself, they knew better. Chun Li Xiang was also a master of the Musk-Joketsuzoku style of Tiger Kung Fu, and it showed.

Once Neko-Chun Li was finished, she sat on her haunches and yowled. It was during the time that Neko-Chun Li was performing her kata, that Ken Masters had shown up. Leaving his girlfriend to the shopping malls in Tokyo, the Pan-American champion took some time out to visit the dojo.

Inching his way over to Ryu and the others, Ken whispered, "What's going on here?" Why is Chun Li acting like a cat?"

"Long story," Ryu replied. "But she knows the Neko-Ken. Don't do anything rash." To back up that statement, Ryu pointed to the shredded bokkens that laid nearby.

"Are you serious?!" Ken shot back. "Who in their right mind would teach someone that technique?"

"I didn't learn it," Chun Li said, now back to normal and standing on her feet. She then gave Ken the short version about her family and her martial arts skills, then forced Ken to swear on both his life and his honor as a martial artist not to tell anyone, even his girlfriend.

Then Gouken moved in and smacked Ken in the back of the head.

"OW! What was that for, Sensei?" Ken demanded, rubbing the spot where the older man had hit him.

"You and Ryu learned the _Bakusai Tenketsu_ without my permission," Gouken replied. "Fortunately, Ryu got off from being punished since he and Chun Li were attacked by a youma and several Shibito earlier today. Get into your gi, Masters. You and Gouki are going to have a nice long sparring session."

Ken turned to Gouki, who grinned evilly in response. At the moment, Ken wished he was still with Eliza.

* * *

After watching Gouki leave Ken with several bruises, Ryu found Chun Li inside the dojo. Ken had went back to Eliza for the night and Sakura went back home. Gouken and Gouki had retired for the night, leaving the pair alone.

"Something wrong?" Ryu asked.

Without turning around, Chun Li replied, "You must think I'm some kind of freak, don't you? Because of my heritage."

"No. I don't think so," Ryu said. "Besides, if you want to talk about freaks, Blanka is number one on my list. You're just unique, given your heritage. Besides, I've seen a lot more stranger stuff during my travels. Even my masters are unique in their way. So it's of no difference to me."

Chun Li turned around. Ryu saw the redness in her eyes, which showed that she had been crying. Being the stoic warrior that he was, Ryu disliked seeing a woman cry. Before Chun Li could do anything, Ryu had reached up and gently wiped her tears.

"We're all unique in our own way," Ryu continued in his sincere tone. "You are who you are. You are Chun Li Xiang. No one will change that."

While Ryu was telling her this, Chun Li was paying more attention to Ryu's hand on her face than his words. His hands were strong enough to punch through a wall, yet here he was, wiping away her tears with a gentle touch. Then he lowered his hand.

"Promise me one thing," Ryu said.

"What?"

"Don't let me see you cry. It's not you."

Chun Li nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

Ryu gave her that same roguish smile. "No problem."

* * *

Somewhere in Thailand...

In the massive shadow of the reclining Giant Buddha, its marble exterior a reddish hue in the sunset, a lone figure performed the tradition of the _wai khru ram muay_, the dance of Muay Thai.

The man was Thai, standing over seven feet tall, a walking mountain of muscle and raw power. He was dressed in a pair of extra-extra-extra large blue kickboxing trunks with red trim, his hands and feet taped in white boxing tape. Covering his damaged right eye was an eyepatch. On his bald head, was the traditional Muay Thai head circlet known as the _mong kon _(i.e., the headdress that Adon wears). A small scar was evident behind his left eye, the eye itself solid white, as well as another one on his neck. The mass of scar tissue, spanning from the right shoulder to the lower left torso left little to the imagination as to who the person really was.

With a young boy, a Muay Thai trainee acting as his attendant, Victor Sagat performed the _wai kru._ Ever since the conclusion of the last tournament, the 'Emperor of Muay Thai' has long since severed his ties to Shadowlaw and begun walking the road to redemption.

Upon his return to his native Thailand, Sagat tracked down Adon. The former student, now calling himself 'God of Muay Thai,' was sent to the hospital with numerous broken bones. It was a message to every Muay Thai fighter in Southeast Asia and beyond that the Emperor had come back to reclaim his throne. And he did.

One thing that Sagat wasn't expecting was Ryu showing up. While he was in the hospital getting his ruptured appendix removed, Ryu found him recovering in a hospital in Bangkok. The two rivals managed to come to a truce, Sagat forgiving Ryu for scarring him in a Dark Hadou outburst following the conclusion of the World Warrior tournament.

'Soon, Ryu,' Sagat thought. 'Soon I will come for you...and then we shall have the fight of our lives.'

Several months earlier, Sagat and Ryu had met up for their much anticipated rematch in western China. The match, however, was called off when they both were attacked by a Musk raiding party. Ryu and Sagat joined forces and defeated the half-animal warriors, along with their two leaders, Mint and Lime.

In the world of Thai kickboxing, the _wai khru ram muay _is an action of respect, one of which Sagat is a master of. The dance is used _to_ show respect to the teachers and the trainers. Also, in the past Muay Thai was usually fought in front of the king, so the dance was also to apologize to the King for the brutality in fighting.

Sagat slowly walked in a circle, as if he was in a ring. Once, twice, three times. Sinking to his knees, the Muay Thai giant bowed, also three times, in reverence to both God and man, before turning to face the Giant Buddha and performing the same gesture, asking for his protection for the upcoming fight, even though there was none.

Standing to his feet, Sagat performs the _Ram Muay_, a series of simple movements which demonstrated his prowess and fighting skills to the imaginary audience. Having been trained by Nuah Kahn, Sagat's Muay Thai style was nothing fancy. It was a smash-mouth, in-your-face style of fighting. One which Sagat enjoyed to the fullest.

His dance finished, Sagat turned to the young attendant and kneeled, head bowed. The young trainee reached up and removed the _mong kon_.

That was when the marble head of the Giant Buddha came crashing down, the massive piece of stone falling to the ground. Sagat spun around, just in time to see the head fall...not to mention the person who was responsible for such a desecration.

"NOW WHERE THE HELL AM I?!" a voice shouted in Japanese.

* * *

Ryouga Hibiki thought he was in Japan. Certain that he was on his way back to the Tendou home, the direction-impaired martial artist found himself instead in Thailand, following a sightseeing tour of the Great Wall of China, North Korea, the Kremlin and Burma.

His chain of thought about being with the object of his desire and beating down the bane of his existence to a bloody pulp was interrupted when he ran into a wall.

Without thinking, Ryouga punched the obstruction, causing a massive chunk of stone to fall. Stepping past the destroyed object, he screamed, "NOW WHERE THE HELL AM I?!"

It was at that moment, that Ryouga realized he had done something bad, given the fact that the man was glaring down at him with his one good eye. It was at that moment that Ryouga turned and saw what he had done, finding himself looking at the stone head of the Giant Buddha.

"Tiger..."

Ryouga turned back towards the giant, who at the moment, had both hands pulled back, the palms glowing with ki. Ryouga knew that this was going to hurt very badly.

Sagat then thrust his arms forward, unleashing a massive bolt of ki. "**CANNON!**"

**BOOM!**

The ki attack sped towards Ryouga at blinding speed, catching him square in the chest, sending the lost boy into low-earth orbit, backpack, umbrella and all, heading for Japan.

As Ryouga vanished beyond the horizon, a single scream was heard in the distance.

"DAMN YOU, RANMA SAOTOME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

* * *

Back in Nerima, a buxom teenage girl with flaming red hair tied in a pigtail and dressed in Chinese Maoist clothes sneezed.

Sniffing, she muttered, "Stupid freaky weather. Either that or someone is talking about me."


	4. Chapter Three

_**Chapter Three**_

Shortly after Ryu and Chun Li had left Juuban...

Little did Ryu and Chun Li knew that there was another party in Juuban who was present when the youma attacked.

A tall, long-haired teenage girl was inside a bookstore looking for a book on 'The Art of War' when the youma attacked. Before the girl could do anything, several people were piling into the bookstore.

The girl, Makoto Kino, cursed to herself. There were too many people inside to transform, and worse yet, this was a new kind of youma that has been seen in the area. Instead of sapping the human victims of their life energy, this new youma attacks them, killing them and transforming the murdered humans into a freakish kind of zombie.

'Better hope that Mercury's computer can pick up that freak,' the reincarnated Senshi thought to herself.

That's when she looked outside and saw something she wasn't expecting. A man and a woman were outside, the woman holding a handgun, which she unloaded into the youma. Naturally, that did nothing to stop the youma, who tossed a car at them in retaliation.

The man pulled both himself and the girl out of the way, just as the car crashed into a clothes store window. Makoto winced. 'Damn. Minako's going to be pissed when she sees that,' she thought wryly of the Senshi of Venus.

Then she saw the man walk over to the youma, after showing something into the woman's hands. When the youma charged, the man did something that made Makoto's jaw drop to the ground in clear astonishment. The man struck the ground, and the street underneath the youma exploded, sending it flying into the air.

When it landed, it was missing an arm and both legs, struggling to get away. Then the man took the item that the woman was holding, which turned out to be a sword, and decapitated the youma, reducing it to dust.

Minutes later, several armed Shibito had arrived, and this time, it was the girl who had tackled the man over the hood of a parked car, just as the undead opened fire. After several minutes, the girl jumped out and fired at the Shibito, blasting the guns out of their hands.

Then the man crept up from behind and struck.

To anyone watching, they would have seen nothing but five flashes. When it was over, the man sheathed his sword, which was followed by the Shibito falling to the ground in several pieces. The pair then departed without incident.

Makoto stepped outside and looked at the carnage. A car was riddled with bullets, the youma was reduced to dust, and there was a crater in the middle of the street, not to mention the bloody remains of the Shibito.

In a flash of light, the Senshi appeared. 'Took them long enough,' Makoto thought wryly as she saw Moon go into her speech, only to be cut off by the apparent lack of youma and the mangled remains of the Shibito.

Mercury looked at Makoto, the latter's expression saying that she will explain everything later.

* * *

"...and that's what had happened," Makoto finished.

The reincarnated Senshi were inside their usual meeting spot – inside the Hino Shrine. Makoto had finished explaining everything to Usagi and the others.

"Are you telling me that one guy did that much damage to the youma and the Shibito?" Haruka asked.

Makoto nodded. "Yes."

Haruka scoffed. "Are you serious? No human is that powerful."

"You're wrong, Haruka," Setsuna Meiou deadpanned as she materialized inside the temple. "Makoto is telling the truth. I've seen the entire incident through the Gates. There are humans who possess remarkable skills in the martial arts, like Makoto here. Some cam even harness the energy around them or even their own internal energies and use them for attacks."

Setsuna turned to Makoto. "It appears that you know this man well, Makoto. You met him at a martial arts competition several months ago. His name is Ryu Houshi."

Makoto blinked. "That was Ryu? I didn't recognize him, since his back was to me when he mauled that youma. And all the times I've seen him he was wearing a white karate gi and red headband."

Ami pulled out her computer and punched in several keys. Within moments, a complete dossier on Ryu appeared. What was most interesting was that she had hacked into the I.C.P.O. mainframe.

Setsuna and the others crowded around the young computer whiz and looked down on the screen. Minako let out a low whistle. "He's cute," she admitted, licking her lips. "You know that hunk?"

Makoto nodded. "We met at a tournament. I lost to his student, but he told me that he was impressed with my skills. In effect, he encouraged me to train even more." She looked at Ryu's stats. "His background is impressive."

"I've looked at his life through the Gates," Setsuna said. "He is one of two heirs to the Ansatsuken School of Martial Arts, intelligent and commands a great deal of respect from both friend and foe alike."

"And what had happened today?" Makoto asked.

"He fights with the weapons style of his school, called Ansatsuken Shunjutsu," Setsuna explained. "That technique you saw decimate the Shibito is called the 'Steel-Bladed Sword,' or Zantetsuken. All you saw was five flashes, then she Shibito were destroyed, right?"

The Senshi of Jupiter nodded.

"The Zantetsuken is executed when Ryu or anyone of the Ansatsuken School infuses the blade of a sword with ki. Combining it with a modified Ashura Senkuu, they can attack. Very dangerous technique."

"And what about the Ansatsuken School itself?" Usagi asked. "Is it a threat to Crystal Tokyo?"

"No, Princess," Setsuna replied. "The Ansatsuken School, along with the Shinmeiryu Kendo School, was designed to defend against Genma and Youma. Ryu, nor the Ansatsuken Dojo is not a threat. We shall leave him alone for the time being."

"Fair enough," Makoto said. "Because I would love to fight him or even his student once again."

* * *

Two weeks later...

Inside a small Japanese teahouse near the Hamarikyu Gardens, Chun Li dropped the bombshell on her friend.

"You did what?!" Cammy White half-yelled.

Ignoring the outburst, Chun Li continued to sip at her tea. "I resigned from the I.C.P.O.," she replied. "I resigned yesterday."

"But...why?"

"I guess given what has happened to me back in Hong Kong," Chun Li replied, "I guess the whole thing has left me...somewhat disillusioned. I joined Interpol because I believed in the law. You could even call me an idealist. Now, I see that anyone can be bought if the price is right."

"You could come and join MI-6," Cammy suggested. "Work for Delta Red. We can use someone of your skills. I can put in a good word for you with Colonel Watson."

"Thanks, but no. I'm done with law enforcement for the time being. Now, I just want to live the life of a normal woman, instead of some revenge-happy agent. I've been meaning to visit my grandmother back in China, as well as pay my respects to Master Gen."

"So...what will you do now?" the former Shadowlaw agent asked. "For the time being, anyway."

"Dunno," Chun Li replied. "I'm considering my options at the moment. Right now, I just want to relax."

"So what's the story between you and Ryu?" Cammy asked. "I was kinda concerned when I found out you were staying with him. I mean, you end up on the I.C.P.O.'s bad side and you end up staying with the man who you despised."

"After this past month, Ryu's not really that bad," Chun Li confessed. "I found out some things about him that not even I didn't know."

"Such as...?"

Chun Li counted of on her fingers. "He is fluent in several languages, he is not obsessed with fighting as everyone thinks that he is, and last, he is a genius...of the brainy kind." When Cammy blinked, Chun Li added, "Yeah, that was my expression too."

"We are talking about Ryu Houshi, right?" Cammy asked. "Japanese fella, nearly six feet tall, always wears that gi and headband, friends with Ken Masters? Mr. Uber-Stoic himself?"

"Yeah. He graduated from Waseda, then Tokyo University before he turned fifteen. He's been training in martial arts since he was four. Whenever he's not fighting, training or teaching Sakura, he's actually laid back. He's got that devil-may-care attitude. It's not like Masters' attitude, but more subtle, more humble."

Cammy took notice of the look in her friend's eyes. "And you got the hots for him."

"Wh-what?" Chun Li stammered.

"Bloody Hell, woman, even I know that Ryu is cute for a Japanese guy. With the exception of Juli and Juni, most of the Dolls back in Shadowlaw had a crush on him. Some women like a little spit and dirt in their men. I know that if the roles were reversed, then I would have jumped on him."

Chun Li looked like she was going to deny it, until she slumped back into her seat. "He saw me crying in the dojo a couple of weeks back," she confessed. "He wiped the tears off from my face. I've seen him break stone and brick with his bare hands, even metal barrels. When he touched me...his hands were rough from all the training, but they were so sincere."

"Ooh," Cammy said, "You got it bad for him."

"Bad is an understatement," Chun Li replied. "I got to keep my emotions in check. Otherwise, I might end up scaring him off if I jump on him."

"So just suck up and tell him how you feel about him?" Cammy suggested. "Who knows, you might get lucky. He could feel the same about you."

* * *

At the same time, at the dojo...

"I knew it!" Ken Masters whooped. "You got the hots for Chun Li!"

The two men were currently in the dojo. Dressed in their respective gis, the two longtime friends and training partners were sparring.

"I mean, you haven't had a girlfriend since college and now, Chun Li is a potential candidate," Ken said as he launched into a flurry of kicks, all of which Ryu dodged and parried.

"That's not true," Ryu replied calmly. "Kyoko and I dated for several months before she went off to medical school. Last I heard of her she was working as a school nurse, engaged to one of the schoolteachers there."

"Well, it's not like Chun doesn't have any respect points," Ken continued. "She is a martial artist, honorable and an officer of the law."

"About that last part, she resigned from Interpol yesterday," Ryu replied as he tossed Ken across the dojo.

Ken flipped out of the throw. "No kidding. Then she's free. This is a perfect opportunity for you, man. Just talk to her and see what she says." Ken then rushed in and grabbed Ryu. Putting him in a headlock, he proceeded to give his rival a noogie. "Ha-ha! Ryu got the hots for Chun Li!"

Ryu responded by grabbing Ken and throwing him. Once again, Ken flipped out of the throw. "I hate you, Masters," Ryu growled. "Really, I do."

Ken merely smirked at his friend. "I know. I love you too."

* * *

At the same time, in Nerima Ward...

This was supposed to be a outing between friends.

Ryu had given his student the day off from training since Ken was in town. So Sakura decided to spend it with her friends. Karin Kanzuki had her hands full with her twin sisters, which gave the teenage Ansatsuken student some breathing room.

Along with Sakura was her friends from Taiyo High School, Ran Hibiki, Hinata Wakaba, Batsu Ichimonji and his cousin, Kyosuke Kagami. From Gorin High School was the volleyball star Natsu Ayuhara. Her best friend, Kei Chitose, was in the hospital following surgery on her tonsils.

The group was having lunch inside a Chinese ramen shop when there was a clamor outside, following their visit to the hospital where Kei was recovering. Discovering that the location of the ruckus was at Nerima Park, Sakura and the others decided to check it out.

* * *

Ever since the arrival of the Saotomes, Akane Tendou went from one of the self-proclaimed best martial artists in Nerima to the worst.

She never liked playing second banana, especially to her cursed fiancé. The aforementioned fiancé was stuck at the Nekohanten, training under Cologne in an attempt to relieve himself- currently herself - of the Full Body Cat's Tongue.

Akane saw this as an interesting opportunity. With Ranma occupied, she decided to show Nerima that she was indeed the best of the best. Clad in her yellow karate gi, Akane issued out a challenge to any and all fighters, claiming that she was even better than Ranma.

Surprisingly enough, Akane's second elder sister wasn't present. Nabiki was away at a meeting with her henchwomen at Fuurinkan High, going over the days's profits. Only her friends, Yuka and Sayuri were present, watching the entire events unfold with worried expressions, having failed to talk Akane out of what she had planned.

Sakura and the others showed up just in time to see Akane take down the third challenger...who was sent in their general direction as Akane roundhouse-ed him straight towards Sakura, who responded by kicking the guy straight into the air. The Horde member landed seconds after, on the ground and in pain.

Akane watched as a Japanese girl around her age and slightly taller with short hair, wearing a white headband around her head, and dressed in a sleeveless shirt, track pants and classic Converse sneakers punt the last horde member into the air.

"Not bad," Akane said. "That was a lucky shot."

Sakura walked into the impromptu arena, stepping **on and over **the downed member. "No luck, that was skill." She pulled out her fighting gloves and slipped them on.

Akane took Sakura's movements as a challenge. "You think a skinny twig like you can beat me?" she taunted. "I'm the best martial artist in Nerima."

"Good," the teenage Ansatsuken apprentice replied. "Then you would have no problem putting that to the test against me, do you?"

Akane smirked. "I got no problem. Just don't come crying to me when you lose." She went into her stance. "Before we begin, I'm Akane Tendou, master and heiress to the Tendou-ryu School of Indiscriminate Grappling."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. Sakura Kasugano, of the Ansatsuken School."

Akane turned to her friends. "No one interferes! Not my sisters, not that baka hentai of a fiancé, no one!" She turned to Sakura. "I'll show everyone that I'm a martial artist! I'll show everyone that I'm the best!"

'Jeez,' Sakura thought. 'She talks too much. Just like Karin. Hmm...she has ego...maybe some personal insecurities. Maybe I can use that against her.'

Akane charged a moment later, fist cocked back in order to deliver the knockout blow. Only it didn't come, since Sakura grabbed her wrist and in less than three seconds, Akane found herself flat on her back, having been flipped over the hip by Sakura.

Getting back up, Akane went back into her stance. "That was a lucky throw," she growled. "This time, I fight for real!"

"Good," Sakura replied as she went into her stance. "So will I!"

Akane charged again. It was during this time, the owner of the Chinese ramen shop – the Nekohanten – along with her great-granddaughter and the former's reluctant student showed up. Upon hearing the ruckus outside, Cologne closed down the shop for the moment and went to see what was going on.

Standing beside Kyosuke and his group, she – along with Shampoo and Ranma Saotome – watched the match. Cologne watched the Ansatsuken apprentice with a skilled eye, honed by over three centuries of martial arts. 'The girl has promise as a martial artist. She would have made an excellent addition to the tribe as an ally.'

Shampoo was thinking along the lines of, 'Ooh, the perverted kitchen wrecker is going to lose! Then Airen will see that she is not a real martial artist!'

Onna-Ranma, with her hands bandaged following her training in the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken, stepped in to interfere, but was stopped by Cologne. "No, son-in-law," the Joketsuzoku matriarch said. "I want to see how this plays out."

"Akane's outclassed," Ranma objected. "She can't win. I gotta stop this before it goes out of hand."

"Perhaps this will show her that she is not as a great as a fighter she portrays herself to be," Cologne replied wisely. "She could have been a master at her age, but from what you told me about her, she knows only the basics of the Musabetsu Kakuto-ryu and has not progressed, since her father have not taught her since her mother's passing. It's about time that the little princess finds out she is not as good as she sees herself to be."

Ranma saw the sense in Cologne's words and stepped back...and winced as Sakura nailed Akane with a upwards hammer punch to the chin. Ranma looked at Akane's challenger and a thought came to him. 'That technique looks an awful lot like the Ansatsuken style. The same style that Pops and I learned the basis of aerial combat.'

Back to the match, Sakura looked barely winded as Akane spat out a wad of blood. "Give up?" Sakura asked.

"NO!" was the reply. She then spun around and saw Ranma standing alongside the two Joketsuzoku. Ranma's expression was that of concern, while Shampoo's expression was smug. Cologne's expression was neutral as she balanced herself on her cane.

Before Ranma could say anything, Akane snarled out, "Stay out of this, Ranma! This is my fight! I'll show you! I'll show you all that I'm the best!"

Akane turned around and launched a barrage of punches and kicks, which Sakura parried and blocked. She then nailed Akane with a straight punch to the face, drawing blood from her nose, followed by a elbow to the gut and a kick to the head that made her topple to the ground yet again.

Akane was getting mad. Mad enough to produce her signature weapon; the wooden mallet, which she dubbed 'Mallet-sama.' After a series of overhead and underhand strikes, of which Sakura narrowly dodged, the older girl disarmed the younger girl and tossed the weapon away. Ducking under a power roundhouse from Akane, Sakura landed several punches to Akane's stomach, which was followed by a roundhouse kick, which sent Akane spinning to the ground.

"Master of the Musabetsu Kakuto-ryu, huh?" Sakura taunted. "I'm waiting to be impressed."

"I'll show you!" Akane charged in again. Sakura casually blocked and parried all of her attacks, which made Akane even more angry. "Damn it! Fight me for real!" she yelled.

A particularly evil thought came into Sakura's mind. 'Let's see if I can goad her into making a mistake,' she thought. Sakura swatted Akane's hand to the side when she tried to punch her. "Thighs too thick," she taunted in a sing-song voice.

Sakura ducked and delivered a double-fisted power punch to the sternum, knocking the air out of Akane. "Built like a stick."

She then hopped back to avoid Akane's spinning back kick. The teenage Ansatsuken trainee's foot impacted at a downward angle, stopping Akane's second kick by striking her leg, causing Akane to stagger before connecting to the side of her head with a second kick. "Can't even kick."

Sakura parried her opponent's right cross and headbutted her, making Akane stagger from the blow. Sakura rubbed her own head, wincing from the impact. "Ite. Dumb as a brick."

Akane charged at Sakura again. This time, Sakura charged in as well. Sakura's fist slammed into Akane's gut, the blow transforming into a rising uppercut, sending both fighters into the air. Akane landed on her ass, while Sakura landed on her feet, having completed the Shououken. "Macho chick," Sakura finished, her hand raised in a Chun Li-esque mock salute.

Ranma smiled at the rhyme. 'That's neat,' she thought. 'Maybe I can use that.'

Even Cologne cracked a smile at the rhyme. 'The girl got some spirit in her.'

Sakura then rushed in, grabbed Akane from behind and slammed her facedown to the ground. Before Akane could get a handle on what was going on, Sakura had one knee in Akane's back, and Akane's arm in a bonebreaker armbar. Akane, facing losing or having Sakura break her arm, did the one thing she could do.

She took her other hand and tapped out.

Sakura saw the gesture and released her hold, as her cheering section whooped in seeing Sakura win the match. Kyosuke looked at Ran. The self-proclaimed 'Scoop Girl of Taiyo High' had her video camera out. She had filmed the entire match.

From the sidelines, Shampoo grinned at the beaten Akane. "Perverted kitchen destroyer no can beat newcomer. Akane lost match," she taunted in her broken Japanese. "Akane no best in Nerima. Only Airen best in Nerima."

Holding her sore arm, Akane had heard what the younger Chinese Amazon had said. Glaring at Sakura, who was being congratulated by her friends and onlookers, her self-made image as one of the best martial artists in the ward was completely reduced to nothing.

"Cheater!"

Sakura turned around. "Excuse me?"

Akane got to her feet. "You heard me! You cheated in our match! I wasn't ready!"

Ranma rolled her eyes. 'This is Kunou-level delusion here,' she thought. 'She can't bear the thought of losing, not even to another girl.'

Sakura frowned. "Cheated? I defeated you fair and square. Accept it."

"Yeah," Batsu muttered. "Accept that you suck in fighting, Tendou."

Hinata elbowed him in the gut. "Quiet, you."

"You're just like that pervert!" Akane shouted, just as Ranma frowned, the cursed martial artist knowing that his violent maniac of a fiancée was talking about her. "You can only cheat to win!"

Sakura scoffed. "Yeah, this coming from someone who tried to drill me with an over-sized hammer. Real honorable, Tendou. Besides, if you said that you wasn't ready, then maybe you're not the best martial artist that you claim to be."

Akane then saw red. Ignoring the pleas from her friends, she picked up her mallet and charged, the weapon held high in an attempt to split Sakura's skull open...

"Akane, no!" Ranma shouted.

...only Sakura flipped up and over Akane just as she swung, the mallet striking where Sakura had been.

In mid-flip, Sakura began to summon her ki, drawing back her hands to her waist. "Shinkuu..."

Ranma saw what Sakura was going to do. "This is gonna hurt."

"Of that, I agree, son-in-law," Cologne cackled. 'The girl is using ki. Most impressive.'

Akane spun around, only to see Sakura standing behind her, her hands glowing.

"**HADOUKEN!**"

The ki blast, having been honed under Ryu's tutelage, smashed into Akane. Once the dust settled, everyone saw the end result of Sakura's final attack. Her gi was reduced to nothing but rags. Fortunately, she was wearing a sports bra and cotton shorts underneath what used to be her clothes.

Sakura had held back, given the fact that there were innocent bystanders watching and she didn't want to see no one injured in her match. Akane just stood there, her expression blank, still holding the mallet in her hand.

Looking at the defeated girl, Sakura remembered a line from a gaijin movie she had watched a while back, and thought it would be perfect for this moment. "This," she deadpanned, "is where you fall down."

First the mallet fell from Akane's hand. Then she fell over, out for the count.

It was finally over.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment, that Tatewaki Kunou had decided to regain consciousness, just in time to see Sakura's final attack and Akane falling over.

"Hold, fiery maiden!" Kunou shouted.

Sakura turned to face the poetry-sprouting kendoist. "Great. Now what?"

"You have harmed my fierce tigress, the fair Akane Tendou," Kunou replied. "This, I cannot allow. You have harmed my love, and I, the 'Blue Thunder,' Tatewaki Kunou, age seventeen, the rising star of the kendo world, shall deliver the swift justice of the heavens! I strike!"

Kunou then charged at Sakura, bokken at the ready. Sakura, being trained by Ryu in Ansatsuken Shinjutsu, reacted automatically. Kunou was most surprised when he saw that the business end of his bokken was caught by Sakura in a barehanded sword block, the palms of Sakura's hands clamped down on the wooden weapon.

Quoting 'Macbeth,' Sakura replied, "'That is a tale told by a **idiot**!'"

At the word 'idiot,' Sakura kneed Kunou in the groin. Every male present – even Ranma – winced in pain as Kunou released his bokken, sinking to his knees, his face a mask of great pain as he held his junk in his hands.

Now Sakura held the bokken in her hands as she finished the quote. "'Full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing!'"

As she finished the quote, the last thing that Tatewaki Kunou saw before darkness was the bokken coming down on his face.

Everyone present winced as the sickening **CRACK **was heard as Sakura KO'ed Kunou, Cologne included. Kunou fell to the ground, an angry red welt present on his face.

"Now **that** he had coming," Ranma said.

Shampoo nodded. "Stupid stick boy no know when to quit."

Sakura dropped the bokken and walked back to Kyosuke and the others. "Remind me never to piss you off,"Kyosuke said. "You can be pretty scary at times."

Sakura shot a glare at her boyfriend. "Shut up, you."

"An impressive display, child."

Sakura turned around. Cologne was there. Ranma, in the meantime was with Yuka and Sayuri, preparing to take Akane to Tofuu's clinic.

"You are indeed strong," Cologne continued, perched on top of her staff. "That was a victory well-earned."

Batsu gawked at the ancient matriarch. "Who's the walking mummy?" he asked. He was rewarded with a swift **WHACK** on the head with Cologne's staff.

"Watch your tongue, sonny boy," Cologne warned. Turning back to Sakura, Cologne asked, "Your style...it's the Ansatsuken School, isn't it?"

Sakura nodded. "It is. Who are you, and how do you know about my school?"

"I know a bit about the Ansatsuken style," Cologne replied. "As to who I am, I am Cologne, the matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Amazons."

Sakura then remembered the conversation concerning the Joketsuzoku several weeks earlier. "Joketsuzoku...Chinese Amazons, correct?" she asked, covering her gaffe. Ryu had told her that a Amazon warrior had learned the Breaking Point was named Cologne and had brought the technique to the Amazons. 'But that means that if this is the same Cologne Ryu-sempai was talking about, then she should be at least...over three hundred years old!'

"You know of my tribe?" Cologne asked.

"A close friend of my sempai is a Chinese Amazon," Sakura replied, purposely keeping out the part about Ryu defeating Chun Li. "She is a guest at the Ansatsuken Dojo. She told me about the tribe."

"And who is this of the Joketsuzoku is a guest of your school?" Cologne asked, curious.

"Chun Li Xiang."

The ancient woman nodded in understanding. "Ah...Lotion's granddaughter. I know who you are talking about. She is very skilled in the martial arts, not to mention very honorable. Her parents and grandmother taught her well. Interesting indeed that she is here in Japan. Maybe when I have the time, I shall seek her out. If you excuse me, I must return to my shop."

Sakura bowed slightly and Cologne pogoed back to the Nekohanten. Shampoo offerd her congratulations before following her great-grandmother back to the café as onna-Ranma carried Akane to the local clinic, with a worried Yuka and Sayuri behind her.

* * *

Following Cammy's visit, Chun Li decided to head on over to Juuban.

Unlike the business section in which her and Ryu had their run-in with the youma and the Shibito, Chun Li found herself in a small residential district. Chun Li knew of the Japanese Interpol agent who resided there, or rather, the former Interpol agent, masquerading as a Japanese housewife, but working as a freelance analyst with the Japanese government.

Chun Li approached a modest two-story home and rang the doorbell. Moments later, the door opened, revealing a Japanese woman in her mid-to-late thirties, dressed in a hakama. Gripped in one hand, was a sheathed katana. From the look of things, the older woman had been practicing.

"Agent Komiya," Chun Li greeted, bowing slightly. "It's been a long time."

The matronly woman smiled and pulled the younger woman into an embrace. "Chun Li. What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. May I come in?"

* * *

Inside the living room, the hostess, having cleaned herself up, dressed in a formal kimono, the katana resting by, wrapped in cloth and secured by a string, served herself and Chun Li some tea before sitting down.

"This is quite the surprise," Komiya said. "To what I owe the honor of your visit?"

Chun Li sipped her tea. "I'm in Japan on...well, **was** on extended leave of absence."

"You mean that little fiasco back in Hong Kong?" Off Chun Li's shocked expression, Komiya continued. "I still have friends in the I.C.P.O. They keep me informed. Oh, and it's no longer Agent Komiya, anymore. You know I resigned from Interpol several months ago. I do freelance work within the Ministry of Investigation now. But I still got the powers of a law enforcement official, meaning I can arrest anyone should I have just cause."

"So I can't address you by your title or your last name. What can I call you then?"

Komiya feigned surprise. "I guess I haven't told you my first name. Komiya is my maiden name. I took my husband's name when I married him. But given the hell he has put my son through, I am considering divorcing him and strike him from the clan records."

Chun Li knew that the Japanese took their family honor seriously, from what Ryu had told her. Being declared ronin from one's clan, even in modern times, had severe consequences.

Komiya sipped at her tea. "I took my husband's last name when I married him. His name is Genma. Genma Saotome. Mine is Nodoka Komiya Saotome. I don't mind if you call me Nodoka, or No-chan. So you came by for more than a friendly visit? You need some advice."

Chun Li nodded "Yes. I resigned from Interpol two weeks ago."

"And you are wondering what you want to do with your life now that you are no longer an agent of the International Criminal Police Organization, correct," Nodoka guessed.

Chun Li mock-scoffed. "You were one of the best analysts. And you're right. I don't want to spend my time chasing down criminals. I've done enough of that. But why the traditional get-up, Nodoka?"

Nodoka shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? Old habits die hard. And besides, I look good in a kimono. And right now, I'm just biding my time until I reveal myself to my husband and son." Turning to a picture, she picked it up from the table and looked at it. It was that of a younger Nodoka and Genma, the former holding a four-year-old son in her hands.

"I've must have been a complete idiot to allow Genma to take our son on that training journey," Nodoka sighed. "Of course, I did take certain precautions."

"Like what?"

"I made Genma sign a seppuku pledge," Nodoka replied calmly. "Should he fails to make out son a 'man among men,' then Genma alone will commit seppuku. But knowing the fact that I ended up marrying a career criminal posing as martial artist, he doctored his copy, duped my son into signing it, and kept him away from me for over a decade."

Nodoka leaned back in her seat. "The pledge was designed to keep Genma in line, of course. But given his stunts, that did little to curb his ways. And now...through my Chinese contacts, I found out that Genma had taken Ranma to those damned springs."

"Springs?" Chun Li repeated. "You mean Jusenkyou." The realization then hit the Chinese martial artist. "Wait...you mean...they both were cursed?"

Nodoka grimly nodded. "As you can tell, I have kept a close eye on them since they had left Japan. From what I was told by my sources, Ranma knocked Genma into the Shonmaonichuan - "

"Spring of Drowned Panda," Chun Li said.

Nodoka nodded. "And Genma knocked Ranma into the Nyannichuan in retaliation."

"Spring of Drowned Girl," Chun Li guessed. "At least your son is still human."

"Jusenkyou was just the tip of the iceberg," Nodoka continued. "Genma sold Ranma for food, then steal him back in the dead of night, engaged him to at least fourteen different girls in exchange for food and techniques, and then there's the Neko-ken training. It's a damn miracle that Ranma didn't end up like Genma...or that perverted hentai of a master of his."

"Some husband," Chun Li sniped as she took a sip of her tea. "If I were you, I would have changed him into a panda and sell him to a zoo."

"The thought crossed my mind," Nodoka sardonically replied. "That and using my family katana to make a panda-skin rug out of him. Yes, the second option is much better. But I'm going to see how long Genma will keep up this charade. Depending on how I feel, I will probably even make him honor the seppuku pledge. But...divorcing Genma and removing him from the clan is to a martial artist, a fate worse than death."

Nodoka cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away."

"Err...that's alright, Nodoka," Chun Li replied. "You just needed to vent. If anything, if your son is nothing like his father, then you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know. I just hope that he is...manly," Nodoka sighed.

Chun Li rolled her eyes at the comment."Whatver."

"I got some connections down in Todai," Nodoka said, scribbling down a number and a name on a sheet of paper and handing it to Chun Li. "They are looking for a visiting professor on criminology. I can give you her number. Tell her I recommended you and you got the job." When it looked like Chun Li was going to object, Nodoka silenced her. "Don't argue with me, Chun-chan. You are a natural teacher. This should be easy for you."

After a moment, Chun Li replied, "No-chan...thanks."

Nodoka waved her off. "Don't mention it. You were my greatest student in criminal analysis. It's the least I can do. Just remember to drop in from time to time, okay?"

"I will."


	5. Chapter Four

A.N.: For those who are reading Kasumi's Restaurant in the DOA section, the story **is not** abandoned. I was working on the next chapter alongside this story, until I lost the data and is currently rewriting the chapter.

_**Chapter Four**_

Back in Nerima...

Inside Tofuu's clinic, Akane rested on a spare cot. Her body was bandaged in various places, her body bruised and battered.

Following the ill-advised match with Sakura, onna-Ranma had taken Akane to Tofuu's clinic. The young chiropractor then called Akane's father, who immediately rushed over to the clinic. Almost immediately, Soun Tendou started bawling, threatening to drown everybody inside the clinic with his tears, until Tofuu struck the Tendou patriarch in a shiatsu point, blocking his tear ducts.

The match between Akane and Sakura also had a third party. One of the Fuurinkan schoolgirls who worked as an informant for Akane's second elder sister witnessed the fight and reported it back to her boss. Nabiki Tendou rushed to the clinic from the school. Kasumi remained at home, since the last thing anyone wanted was Tofuu Ono on a Kasumi Trip. Especially one who knew shiatsu points.

Nabiki was angry. Had she known that Akane was going to pull a stunt like this, she would have taken bets on her fights. Once she found out that Akane was injured, she was more than prepared to find out who had hurt her sister. Fortunately, the informant told Nabiki that the whole debacle was Akane's fault.

The informant had a cousin who attended Tamagawa-Minawi, and through her cousin, the informant told Nabiki about the person who had fought her sister. Even the 'Ice Queen of Nerima' knew about Sakura Kasugano, given the events that had taken place concerning Justice High School's attempt to brainwash various students, since Sakura herself was a target, not to mention one of several people who had taken the fight to Justice.

'Little sister, you have got to be the biggest idiot in the ward,' Nabiki thought as Tofuu spoke with Soun concerning Akane's injuries. 'You picked a fight with someone who's better than you.'

"How bad is she, Doctor?" Soun asked.

Tofuu adjusted his glasses. "She was lucky, Tendou. From what Ranma told me, Akane's opponent was holding back. Akane has a concussion, a fractured left wrist, a hyperextended right wrist, several bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, minor burns on her hand, and numerous bruises all over her body. She'll need time to recover."

Onna-Ranma, in the meantime, had been given the riot act by her now panda-fied father.

_**Worthless boy, **_Panda-Genma signed. **_How could you let this happen to your fiancée?_**

"I didn't let anything happen to her," Ranma replied in her own defense. Holding her bandaged hands for her father to see, Ranma continued. "I was at the Nekohanten with Shampoo and the old ghoul when this was going on. She told me not to interfere, so I didn't. If anything, the techniques look like the Ansatsuken style."

That caught Panda-Genma's attention. He pulled out another sign. _**Ansatsuken? Are you sure? **_

Ranma nodded. "The same style where we both learned the basis of aerial combat."

It was at that moment, Nabiki appeared. So far, all the people she had talked to, from Akane's friends, the Joketsuzoku Amazons at the Nekohanten and even Ranma herself had said the same thing – Akane had fought and lost to Sakura by submission, then tried to attack Sakura from behind with Mallet-sama, which ended in Sakura knocking Akane out cold with an Ansatsuken ki attack. Cologne knew of the Ansatsuken dojo, since she visited the school when she was younger and was a guest of the school's grandmaster at the time.

"So how is she?" Ranma asked.

"She'll live, Saotome," Nabiki replied. "I could have made some extra money from this little scheme of hers. Then again, I wasn't expecting Kasugano to fight my little sister." Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Nabiki continued. "I've talked with the Amazons and Akane's friends, not to mention several witnesses. Their stories match. Akane won't take this lightly, you know."

"Indeed," a third voice said from the doorway. "Your sister's skills in the martial arts are...marginal at best."

Nabiki, Ranma and Panda-Genma turned to the doorway. Kyosuke was standing there, as was his cousin, Batsu. Ranma recognized the two. "I remember you. You were there at the match earlier today."

"Yeah," Batsu replied. "We were there."

Panda-Genma pulled out a wooden sign. _**Who are you?**_

"Kyosuke Kagami , of the Imawano clan," Kyosuke introduced himself. Pointing to his cousin, he added, "My cousin, Batsu Ichimonji, also of the Imawano clan."

If Panda-Genma and his cursed son were looking at Nabiki when Kyosuke told them of whose clan they both belonged to, they would have seen her cold expression falter. The Imawano clan was one of the most influential and powerful clans in all of Japan, their influence could rival that of the Kanzuki clan. Not even the Kunou clan could match the Imawano clan in power and wealth.

"So what brings you back to Nerima?" Ranma asked.

"Oh..." Kyosuke replied, adjusting his glasses, " I came because I want no misunderstanding between the Tendou clan and Kasugano."

"There is no misunderstanding," Nabiki replied. "My sister got into a fight with someone who was better than her."

"And knowing you, Tendou," Kyosuke countered, "you would be gunning after my girlfriend, since you only had your sister's word. I know how you work, Tendou. You'd be amazed as to what you can find out if you're willing to spend a little bit of money. Such as, shall we say...your methods in making money."

"So what are you proposing?" Nabiki asked, paling slightly.

"Nothing at the moment," Kyosuke replied as he pulled out a CD case and handed it to Nabiki. "This is a copy of the fight from earlier. It should be more than enough to clear Sakura of any wrongdoing against your sister. I hope for your sake that you take the right course of action." His smile took on a steely hardness. "Because I would really hate to take the 'Ice Queen of Nerima' to war against my clan. Ja ne."

Kyosuke and Batsu left without incident. Ranma looked at Nabiki, who was looking at the CD, which was simply labeled, _**KASUGANO VERSUS TENDOU**_. Originally, Nabiki wanted to go after who had placed Akane in the hospital, but after speaking to the Joketsuzoku, and several witnesses, not to mention what took place moments earlier, Nabiki had a serious case of doubt.

Sighing, she turned and faced the two cursed martial artists. "I'm not going to push this matter further," she replied. Her businesslike demeanor back in place. She then walked back to her father and Akane.

* * *

Following her visit to Nodoka, Chun Li had left Juuban and was at the train station, waiting for the train that would take her back to Kuwata.

Instead, when the train leading back to the town pulled to a stop, she ran into Ryu, just as he was stepping out of the train, causing Chun Li to stumble.

Ryu caught her in time, just as she started to fall. Pulling her back to her feet, Ryu apologized. "Sorry. I didn't see you. You okay?"

Chun Li nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Behind Ryu, the train doors closed and the train moved out of the station. Neither person didn't notice. Ryu did notice, in his closeness to Chun Li, what she was wearing. She was wearing her one-piece tracksuit, no vest, and a leather jacket with the Interpol insignia on the sleeve. Given the fact that he was slightly taller than her, should he look down, he would be staring at her chest.

'Damn it, get your mind out the gutter, hentai!" Ryu's mind screamed at him. 'We don't know if she likes you that way.'

Following Ken's visit to the dojo, Ryu decided that he needed some fresh air. So he decided to go to Tokyo. Unfortunately, he had ran into Chun Li.

Meanwhile, following her visits to Cammy and Nodoka, Chun Li was thinking along the same lines. Then she found herself running into Ryu. Chun Li felt the primal side of her heat up. Sure she had seen just how muscular Ryu was, but this time, every time she had seen him workout or train due to the weather, she would get shivers down her spine.

'Damn it!' her mind screamed. 'You can't jump on him just yet! You got to talk to him first!'

"Were you heading back to the dojo?" Ryu asked.

"I was. Now the train is gone."

"If you feel up to it, I could use some company," Ryu suggested.

Chun Li smiled as she wrapped her arm around the crook in Ryu's elbow. "Sure."

* * *

No youma, no fighters coming to challenge the duo in a match. The walk down the city streets was peaceful. Chun Li was enjoying herself immensely. The smile on her face was completely genuine as she moved closer to Ryu as they strolled the streets, each person enjoying the other's company.

They walked down a street in Tokyo's Chiyoda District in pleasant silence. 'Guess this is a good time as any to see how he feels about me,' Chun Li thought.

'Now let's see how she feels about me,' Ryu thought, thinking along the same lines.

Before they could speak, however, they found themselves surrounded by six thugs, who had blocked off their escape route. Nearly all of them were armed with various types of melee weapons from chains to knives.

One of them, which was the leader, spoke. "You look like a sympathetic couple," he said, just as his buddies snickered. "We need some...funding for a friend of ours and we was wondering if you can help us out."

Ryu and Chun Li exchanged glances before turning back to the leader. "Sorry. No dice," Ryu replied flatly.

One of the men was looking at Chun Li with lust in his eyes. "She's pretty for a Chinese broad," he told his boss.

The boss nodded as he looked at the young woman, taking in her athletic body, which showed through her tracksuit. "She's a fine piece of ass, alright We're gonna treat you real nice, girlie."

When one of the men reached out to grab her shoulder, Chun Li caught the wrist with one hand and twisted hard. A sickening **SNAP **echoed through the street as the man held his broken wrist in pain, staggering back.

"GAHHH!" The man screamed. "You fucking bitch! You broke my wrist!"

Chun Li smirked as she raised her hand in her trademark mock-salute. "Oopsie. Gomen ne."

Ryu cracked his knuckles, preparing for the oncoming fight. These men had tried to rob both him and Chun Li, not to mention their idea of fun went along the lines of rape. Chun Li prepared for the ensuing battle as well.

"GET THEM!" the leader bellowed.

Three of them closed in on Ryu, while the other two targeted Chun Li. Ryu ducked as one thug, armed with a steel pipe, swung at his forehead, only to miss and nail one of his partners, knocking him out cold. The Japanese Ansatsuken warrior then dodged a knife thrust from the third attacker, disarming him and tossing the knife into the storm drain before stunning the man with a chop to the throat before turning back to the man with the pipe. Ryu caught the business end of the pipe with one hand, and with his other hand, delivered a punch to the face, drawing blood and knocking out several teeth.

Tossing the pipe away, Ryu calmly turned around and landed several blows on the other guy before grabbing both him and his friend and smashing both their heads together. Instant knockout.

As Ryu watched Chun Li fight the remaining two thugs, he noticed that aside from the Chinese Kempo and the Wushu and Joketsuzoku styles of Kung Fu, he saw that she had trained under Gen, mastering both Mantis and Crane styles. Ryu also swore that he saw a bit of Jeet Kune Do in her style as well.

Intercepting a wild blow to the head by grabbing the thugs arm, Chun Li delivered a series of punches, only stopping to elbow the guy behind her before delivering a spinning back kick to the guy's sternum with enough force to send him flying back into a pile of garbage cans.

That left only the leader remaining. When he tried to cheapshot Chun Li from behind, he was most surprized to see that she had ducked and spun around his missed strike. Upon turning around, he was struck numerous time by Chun Li's machine gun-like kicks, Chun Li finishing with a vertical split kick.

It had lasted for less than two minutes.

The two fighters looked at the carnage that surrounded them. Six thugs laid scattered, some groaning in pain, others were out cold. Ryu cracked his neck muscles. "That felt good," he said. "Nothing like a fight to get the blood pumping."

Chun Li nodded in agreement. "All brawn, no brains," she mused, looking at the downed thugs. Walking over to a phone booth, she said, "Better call the police and have this gutter trash taken away."

* * *

Once the police and the medics arrived and had taken Ryu and Chun Li's statements, the police allowed them to be on their way as they mopped up the broken thugs.

As they rounded a corner, Ryu looked up and noticed the ominous rain clouds that were gathering. "Crap. It's gonna storm. We're about two minutes away from a flat Ken owns. We better hurry."

By the time they had reached Ken's flat, the rain had started and they were completely drenched. Ryu fished out the key from its hiding place, unlocked the door and let himself and Chun Li inside.

Locking the door behind him, Ryu pointed to the bathroom. "Bathroom's down the hall, last door on the left. Save me some hot water, will you?"

Chun Li shivered slightly. "I'll try."

* * *

Later on, after the duo had taken their showers and gotten into some dry clothes, the storm had gotten worse. Ryu had called the dojo, telling Gouken that both he and Chun Li had gotten caught in the storm and were riding it out at Ken's flat.

Once the phone call was completed, the Japanese martial artist – clad in a spare pair of boxers and a pair of gi pants that he kept over at the flat in cast of an overnight stay – walked over to the window, and looked out into the rainy Tokyo night.

The storm that had struck the Japanese mainland was a mild typhoon, and according to the weathermen, the storm would ravage Japan for several hours, meaning that both he and Chun Li were stuck until morning.

He was so caught up in his reverie that he failed to notice Chun Li walking up behind him. Since she had no clothes, Ryu had offered her a spare dress shirt, from when Ken would force him to dress up back when they were younger. Her hair was combed out and rather than braid and bun it back into her usual style, Chun Li simply let it fall down her back.

He did notice her arms wrap around his torso and her body press up against his. Ryu didn't move, allowing Chun Li to sigh contently as she felt his heart beat.

Her movements verified it for Ryu. She was in love with him, as much as he was with her. A small smile spread across his face as he slowly turned around in the embrace.

Chun Li acted first. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ryu on the lips. Her heart soared as she felt Ryu's arms wrap around her body and return the kiss with equal passion and intensity. It was as if two highly combustible elements had caught fire as the kiss grew deeper and deeper, until they finally broke off the kiss, breathing hard.

"Another go?" Chun Li breathed.

Ryu nodded. They kissed again, this time a French kiss as Chun Li felt Ryu's hands on her rear, lifting her into the air. Chun Li, out of reflex, wrapped her legs around his waist as Ryu spun her around, pinning her up against the wall, as the kiss grew more and more urgent.

Before long the two martial artists were caught in the middle of an intense make-out session, which had led to the bed. It would have gone to something more had Chun Li then relented.

Ryu sensed her discomfort. "What? What's wrong?" he asked.

"We can't do this," she breathed. "Not yet." She smiled. "Who would have thought that someone like you would turn out to be a great kisser?"

Ryu grinned at her. "I **did **have a girlfriend, you know."

Chun Li kissed him, a slow, passionate kiss. "Can you just hold me...like this?"

Ryu complied. He got off of Chun Li and laid beside her. From his vantage point, he has a nice shot down her shirt, which showed off her cleavage. Chun Li saw what he was looking at and giggled. "Like what you see?" she teased.

"I do," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "You know this is going to complicate things, given who your family is."

She snuggled closer to him. "Do you mind?" she asked, kissing his jawline.

"Nope. This is going to take a lot of work, Li."

"I know." After a moment, Chun Li continued. "I've been meaning to visit my grandmother. If anything, she would be pleased to see you again. Come with me. You could use the break from training and teaching Sakura. I'll visit Hong Kong first, before going to the village."

Ryu thought about it for a moment. "So when are you planning to leave?"

"In a couple of days. Then I'll come back to Japan. A friend of mine set me up for a job as a visiting professor at Tokyo University."

"Sure," Ryu replied. "I'll come with you."

The make-out session then resumed. This time, however, Chun Li and Ryu had given into their carnal desires, as their clothes laid on the floor. As Chun Li found out, his name didn't mean 'dragon' for nothing.

After an hour of lovemaking (and Chun Li's screaming) the new couple laid in the bed, naked and content.

* * *

Tendou home, Nerima.

Nabiki had just finished watching the video of the fight on her computer. Despite Akane's claims that Sakura had cheated, even Nabiki saw that Sakura had won fair and square. Her sister was a sore loser. She even saw that Ranma was going to stop the match, only to have Akane spin on her and order her not to interfere.

For once, it wasn't Ranma's fault that her sister had been turned into a human punching bag. That fault laid entirely on Akane. Even Nabiki had to admit that Sakura was a far better fighter than Akane.

'Too bad she doesn't stay in Nerima,' Nabiki thought as she logged off the computer and headed downstairs for dinner. 'I could make a killing if her and Ranma got into a fight. At least she isn't another fiancée.'

Akane, still battered and bruised, part of her body heavily bandaged, sat beside onna-Ranma at the table, along with Genma and the rest of her family. Surprisingly enough, once Soun found out which school Sakura had came from, he backed off, as did Genma. To Nabiki, this merited further investigation.

"Baka girl," Akane muttered as she used her free hand to grab a pair of chopsticks. "She cheated somehow. I know she did."

Ranma, in the meantime was getting tired of Akane's rants, as were Nabiki. It was the latter that spoke. "I love you, little sister, but even I looked at the video of the match and the only person who tried to cheat was you. You tried to mallet Kasugano into the ground once you lost."

Kasumi looked at the youngest Tendou female and frowned. "Akane...you didn't. That wasn't very nice."

"I don't care what school she's from!" Akane shouted, slamming one bandaged hand onto the table...then winced from the pain. "I'm gonna find that girl and beat her into the ground!"

"Forget it, Akane," Nabiki said sharply. The last thing she wanted was to have Kyosuke make good on his threat. "She doesn't live in Nerima, so she's out of bounds."

"But-" Akane started.

This time, it was Soun who spoke. "Akane, you will not go after that girl. If what Ranma and Genma said is true, then she is a disciple of the Ansatsuken School of Martial Arts." When it looked like Akane was going to argue, Soun put his foot down. "Akane Tendou, I will not speak twice. If you disobey me, then I will ban you from using Anything Goes and give Kasumi back her birthright."

Akane looked at her father, then back at Kasumi. Despite her 'perfect hostess' demeanor, Kasumi Tendou was indeed a master of the Tendou School of Anything Goes, a level that Akane would sell her soul twice over to reach. In the martial arts, Akane was indeed insanely jealous of Kasumi, who was a martial arts prodigy, like Ranma, having been trained in both her father's style of Anything Goes and Shinkage-ryu Kendo, a former junior champion in the martial arts circuit.

The only difference was she had temporary gave up her birthright once their mother had succumbed to illness in order to take care of her family. Kasumi kept in practice, her skills still razor sharp, and with her martial arts skills, can give Soun a run for his money, not to mention Ranma and Genma.

Swallowing her pride, Akane agreed to her father's demand. "Yes, Father."

But in the back of her mind, she was already making plans. She would see Sakura Kasugano again and soon, she hoped. In the back of her mind, she wondered why both her father and Uncle Saotome were scared of the Ansatsuken School. Either way, when she meet up with Sakura Kasugano in the near future, then she will show that she is the best.


	6. Chapter Five

_**Chapter Five**_

Morning came over the city of Tokyo.

Inside a flat owned by Ken Masters, Ryu Houshi and Chun Li Xiang were in the guest bedroom. Clothes were strewn across the floor as they laid in bed together, a blanket covering them in a form of modesty. The new lovers had woken up, and in the middle of kisses and caresses, they talked, sharing tales of their past exploits.

At least, that's what they were doing until the door to the flat unlocked and opened. "Ryu! You in here?" the voice of Ken Masters rang out.

Ryu and Chun Li looked at each other,both thinking only one word: 'Crap!'

That's when the door opened and Ken found himself looking at his friend and Chun Li. The American Ansatsuken warrior noticed three things: 1. Ryu was with Chun Li; 2. They were in bed together; 3. The clothes on the floor meant only one thing.

"Umm...morning?" Ryu feebly said as Chun Li covered themselves for some modesty.

Ken got over his shock. "You...and her...NO WAY!" He then pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number. "Julia? It's Ken. Is William there?"

As Ken exited the room, Ryu and Chun Li both heard Ken say, "You owe me 500 bucks, Guile! Ryu and Chun Li had gotten together! Of course I'm sure! I just walked in on them. It was an accident that I walked in, but they definitely gotten through doing the horizontal hula!"

Ryu and Chun Li groaned as they swore they heard Guile screaming out bloody murder on the other end. whether or not it was directed at Ryu or that he lost the bed with his brother-in-law was uncertain. Either way, they were never going to hear the end of this.

* * *

At the same time, back in Nerima...

Nodoka Saotome watched as Kasumi Tendou made her way down the busy open-air market in the Nerima streets.

With her son and the two younger Tendou siblings in school, Nodoka decided on a course of action. Deciding that she needed someone to watch her son, rather than use on of her contacts, she decided on a different approach. Instead of her kimono, she was dressed incognito, given the recent rain. A turtleneck sweater, slacks and boots, which were concealed in a black trenchcoat, which also contained not the Saotome honor katana, but her personal katana, as she was a master in Yagyu Shinkage Kendo. She had taken her hair out of her bun, allowing the long brown tresses to fall down her back. A pair of eyeglasses completed the outfit.

Knowing full well about Genma and Soun's pact to unite their respective martial arts schools through the marriage of their children, Nodoka needed someone in Nerima to act as her personal informant. Someone that no one would even suspect. Nabiki was out, as Nodoka found out that she was nothing more than a high-school racketeer who did anything for a fast buck, and Akane was too hyper-tempered. On top of that, she hated boys and considered Ranma as a perverted sex-changing freak.

That left Kasumi.

Like Nodoka, Kasumi was a master in Kendo, save that the latter's style was Battoujutsu, the quick draw style, as well as a master in the Tendou style of Anything Goes, showing that she had honor and commanded a lot of respect among the townspeople.

Nodoka made her move, following Kasumi, projecting a spacy aura in order not to get detected by the elder daughter of Soun Tendou.

Kasumi felt someone following her. She thought that it was Ranma, but he was in school with Akane and Nabiki. 'But the aura is someone...familiar,' she thought. 'Could it be Uncle Saotome? No, this aura is feminine. It can't be...'

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Kasumi turned around, standing on the balls of her feet, preparing to defend herself if need be. Instead, she found herself facing an older woman wearing a trenchcoat which concealed her clothing.

"Oh my," Kasumi said. "It's not nice to follow people...Saotome-obachan."

Nodoka smiled. "You remembered. You've grown up well, Kasumi. Your mother would have been proud of you. We need to talk, 'Sumi-chan."

* * *

Inside a small cafe, the two women talked over a pot of tea.

"So it's true, then?" Nodoka asked.

Kasumi sipped at her tea. "Yes, Auntie Saotome. Ranma and your husband are staying as houseguests in my father's home. I'm surprised that he hasn't looked for you. Ranma is a bit rough around the edges, but he is nice and honorable, unlike Uncle Saotome."

"It's probably because of what I will do to him," Nodoka replied. She then told him about Genma signing the seppuku pledge and conning his own son to sign the false copy. "The original copy of the seppuku pact was for Genma only, not for Ranma." She then smiled evilly. "I was against Genma taking Ranma in the first place, and Genma was so determined to leave, I made him sign away his rights as clan leader and give them to me. I know about the both of them being cursed, Kasumi."

Kasumi's eyes widened in fear.

Nodoka continued. "I also know that Genma acted the exact opposite of what a martial artist should be. Selling my son for martial arts techniques and food, engaging him to no less than twenty women, using Ranma's name to rack up an extensive bill of debt, just to name a few of his misdeeds. The little incident at Jusenkyou is possibly the final straw."

"How do you know all of this?" Kasumi asked.

Nodoka studied the young woman. "Well, if I tell you, will you swear on your honor as a martial artist that you will not tell this to anyone? No one must know. Not even your own family nor mine."

Kasumi nodded without hesitation. "You have my word of honor, Auntie Saotome."

Nodoka smiled. One thing she knew was that Kasumi Tendou, like her mother, held her personal honor in high regard. "When I met Genma, I was a rookie agent for the Japanese offices of the International Criminal Police Organization," Nodoka began.

"Interpol," Kasumi said.

Nodoka nodded. "I never told anyone about my real job. The only person that knew was your mother. And thankfully, Genma didn't asked. I worked as a criminal analyst with the I.C.P.O., until I retired several months ago. I do some independent work within the Japanese Ministry of Investigation, and work part-time at a kendo school, so my life hasn't been boring for the past decade and a half."

"But-" Kasumi began.

Nodoka beat her to the punch. "How do I know about Ranma and Genma getting cursed? Easy. Being an I.C.P.O. Agent has its perks. One of which is having a network of contacts and informants who acts as my eyes and ears. I'll bet Nabiki would sell her soul – and possibly half of Nerima's - in order to get the contacts I have."

Off Kasumi's look, Nodoka continued. "Of course I know about her methods in making money. Racketeering, betting pools, and my personal favorite, blackmail. I also heard that not even Ranma is immune to her schemes, such as making him pay for hot water when that Chinese Amazon was chasing after his cursed side, or selling photos of his cursed side to that idiot kendoist."

"As much as I despise her methods in making money," Kasumi objected, "she did it for the house."

Nodoka shook her head and pulled out several pieces of paper. "Wrong, 'Sumi-chan. When Soun married Kimiko, her parents bought the dojo and home as both a wedding gift and a dowry for your mother's hand in marriage. Then came your mother's death. Kimiko and her parents had two life insurance policies put out on her, big enough to pay off the compound and its bills. Only a fraction of what Nabiki makes from her schemes and blackmailing goes to the house. The rest goes in her pocket. The Tendou home has been paid off, thanks to your grandparents."

Nodoka handed them pieces of paper to Kasumi, who scanned them. The first two was from the insurance companies that her mother had their life insurance with. Nodoka was indeed telling the truth. The second was from the bank, saying that the compound was indeed paid in full. Kasumi looked at the date. The date was only a month following her mother's death.

Kasumi frowned. "Nabiki lied. She outright lied to my face. I didn't want to believe it...but I see now that she is indeed the mercenary that everyone talks about. Putting money over her family. How despicable."

"I'm sorry for this, Kasumi," Nodoka said. "But you of all people deserve to know the truth. I also need your help."

Kasumi looked up. "My help? With what, Auntie?"

"I want you to become my eyes and ears inside the Tendou compound," Nodoka explained. "I will reveal myself to Genma and Ranma in due time, but for now, I need an inside man – on in your case, woman – to let me know what is going on inside that house. I worry for my son, being engaged to that sister of yours."

Kasumi nodded in understanding. After all, it was both her and Nabiki who both agreed that Akane would be a better choice for a fiancee. Now, following the match against Sakura, Akane had been in a real bad mood. Kasumi had hoped that the match was a wake-up call, showing that she wasn't at Ranma or her own level. But she was wrong. All she did was claim that the other girl had cheated and even she had seen the match from Nabiki's computer.

Kasumi took only a single moment to decide. "I will help you, Auntie."

Nodoka smiled. "Good, Kasumi. I knew I can count on you." She pulled out a small business card and handed it to Kasumi. "My number is on the back. Call every Friday at this time. Ask for President Tosa. That way I'll know it's you calling."

Kasumi looked at the card. It was in English and Japanese, and it read **KOMIYA TRADING COMPANY**. She pocketed the number. "I will, Auntie."

"Oh, and one more thing. You've been in the house for too long. I think it's time for you to return to the martial arts arena."

"Hmm...that is not a bad idea, Auntie," Kasumi said. "It was nice seeing you again."

"You too, Kasumi."

* * *

By the time they returned to the dojo, they caught Gouken grinning at the both of them, while Gouki handed over several hundred yen notes to his brother, grumbling under his breath. Sakura, on the other hand, her mouth was slack at the thought of her sensei and Chun Li getting it on.

But it was indeed true. Ryu and Chun Li were now a couple.

"Sensei Gouken, Sensei Gouki, Sakura," Ryu announced. "I'm going on a four-week trip to Hong Kong with Chun Li." turning to Sakura, Ryu added, "You will show the same respect that you show to me to Gouken and Gouki, understand?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Sempai."

* * *

The following week, Ryu and Chun Li were on a plane, headed for Hong Kong. They had purchased the plane tickets under Ryu's name, just in case Chun Li was still being targeted by her now-former crooked co-workers, as well as the hotel reservations.

They arrived in Hong Kong without incident. Once they were situated inside their hotel room, Chun Li decided to pay a visit to Master Gen. The former assassin ran the restaurant in the Kowloon area known as the Genhanten. Event though she was cleared in the inquiry, the former Interpol agent wasn't taking any chances.

Recognized usually by her ox-horn hairstyle, Chun Li chose to wear her hair in a pair of Cammy-esque pigtals. Instead of her usual attire, she was dressed in a white sleeveless Chinese-style shirt, denim jeans and tennis shoes, while Ryu was dressed in a simple black t-shirt, khaki cargo pants and a pair of hiking boots. To Chun Li's surprise (and possible chagrin), he had his trademark headband on.

As the pair approached the Genhanten, they saw that it was closed. Of course, it was late at night and Chun Li wanted to visit her mentor and his two charges, and decided to drag her new boyfriend along.

Ryu was reaching for the front door when Chun Li stopped him. "Wait. Let me go in first."

Puzzled as to why she wanted to enter first, Ryu nodded and stepped aside. Opening the door, Chun Li called out, "Master Gen? Sorry I'm late, but-"

At that moment, the two hidden attackers struck. In less than a minute, Chun Li blocked both attacks with practiced ease; stopping a jump kick with one hand and forcing the attacker to flip out o the throw, while she swatted an incoming fist aside.

"Nice try boys," Chun Li remarked, looking at the two teenagers.

They were both twins, dressed alike, but in different colors. The boy that tried to jump kick Chun Li had dark hair twisted into a single pigtail. He was dressed in a sleeveless Chinese shirt – white with blue trim – baggy pants and tennis shoes. A blue-and-yellow baseball cap covered the top part of his face. His brother had his hair combed down and in front of him. Like his twin, he was also dressed in the same Chinese shirt and baggy trousers, save that the shirt was instead red with yellow trim.

"Your footwork needs work, Yun," the former Interpol agent remarked. "I heard you coming a mile away. And Yang, when you punch, you need to put more of your hips into it."

The two twins then embraced the older woman. "Auntie Li, welcome home!" Yang said.

"We thought we had you this time, Auntie," Yun said, frowning slightly.

"'Auntie?'" Chun Li repeated, frowning slightly. "You two sure know how to make a gal feel...old."

"And what is wrong being a little...seasoned?" a voice asked.

Chun Li turned towards the kitchen. An old man mad his presence known. One that even Ryu knew very well. Chinese, long beard with the white hair to match, eyes that are solid white, dressed in purple robes.

Chun Li embraced the older man. "Master Gen."

The former assassin-turned-restaurant owner smiled as he returned the embrace. "Chun Li. Welcome back." He then saw Ryu watching the scene unfold from the door. "And you brought a guest."

Ryu walked forward. Bowing in respect to the old man, he said, "Grandmaster. I see you are well."

Gen frowned. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

Ryu smiled. "You are a grandmaster. I was just merely showing you respect, Master Gen."

Gen's facade remained for several moments before he bowed back. Then he embraced the younger man in a hug. "Young Ryu. I see that you are doing well. How are your masters?"

"They are doing fine. They send their regards."

Gen then motioned Yun and Yang over. "Boys, this is the elder disciple of a close friend of mine. This is Ryu Houshi. Ryu, my two charges and pupils, Yun and Yang Lee."

Ryu responded with a nod. "Nice to meet you both," he said. "That was pretty impressive. You two got some serious talent." Turning to Chun Li, he said, "I thought you said that Fei was going to be here."

"Uncle Fei is running late," Yang said. "He said that he was on his way though. He had to give a mob of fangirls the slip."

"Yeah, that sounds like Fei, all right," Chun Li said with a chuckle.

Following the last tournament, Fei Long had taken some time off to train. But as much as he tried to stay away, the acting bug had caught him once again and he was back in front of the camera. Or rather, behind the camera as a director. That didn't stop him from acting or competing in several martial arts tournaments.

Of course, when he found out that Chun Li was dating his martial arts rival, like Guile, he flipped out, but after talking to Gen, he came to accept that Ryu had made Chun Li happy. In fact, she was the happiest he had seen in her in a long time.

"Talking about me?" Fei Long asked as he entered the Genhanten. As always, he was dressed incognito, complete with a pair of shades. After greeting Gen and the twins, which was followed by a brotherly hug to Chun Li before he turned his attention to Ryu.

"You owe me a rematch, Ryu," Fei said.

"Stand in line," Ryu replied. The two men then shook hands. "Good to see you, Fei."

"You too, Ryu."

At that moment, Gen cleared his throat. "Can we all sit down now? The food is getting cold."

* * *

The four men and one woman were seated at a round table, enjoying the feast in front of them. Fei and Ryu had kept Chun Li and the others entertained with their stories of their travels and past exploits.

Gen took a sip of his tea. "I believe congratulations are in order, Ryu. Gouken have told me that you have made Shihan in Ansatsuken Shinjutsu."

"I made the rank several weeks ago, Master Gen," Ryu replied. "I had to defeat Gouki for it."

"Ah, the self-proclaimed 'Master of the Fists.' I see that his ego is still as large as ever," Gen noted. "Maybe I can drop it a couple of notches when I go to Japan later this month." He turned to Chun Li. "I was surprised when you called, saying that you were coming back to visit. I take it that you are going to visit your grandmother as well?"

Chun Li nodded. "Yes, Master. It's been a while since I visited the village."

Fei nudged Ryu. "You have no idea what you got yourself into, do you?" he asked.

Without missing a beat, Ryu replied, "I already know about the Nyuchezu, Fei. In my language, they are called the Joketsuzoku. Thankfully, Li hasn't given me the Kiss of Marriage."

"Not yet, anyway," Chun Li added as picked up a slice of Peking Duck and munched on it. "Ryu told me about his previous visit to the village. Since he is a blooded warrior, he is exempt from the rules and traditions of the Chinese Amazons."

"You mean, you killed someone?" Gen asked.

Ryu nodded. "It was during the last tournament. I made it to the final match against General Bison. For as long as I can remember, Bison was after me because of my skills in the martial arts. I thought that Chun Li had taken him out in the Zero tournaments, but he was somehow alive. That was when several of his goons found me while I was in India as a guest of the Yoga master Dhalsim and handed me my invitation.

"Ken and I competed and fought our way through the ranks. While Chun Li was dealing with Vega and Guile fought Balrog, I defeated Sagat and had a clear shot for Bison. Even without his Psycho Drive he was still tough, and was it not for the heavy training I did, not to mention my enhanced durability thanks to the Breaking Point training, I would not have survived."

"So how did you defeat him?" Yang asked.

"I used several techniques that only Gouki used to wear him down. Then I unleashed a new move I was working on: The _Shinshoryuken_. It's also known as the True Rising Dragon Punch, the Twin Fists of Death, or as Fei called it, the Dragon Punch from Hell. Combining the attack with the power of the Dark Hadou, the first two blows ruptured Bison's organs and fractured his ribcage. The final blow snapped his neck. Suffice to say, he was dead before he hit the ground."

Ryu took a sip of his water. "Bison was a menace. He kidnapped me and tried to turn me into a mindless killing machine back in the Zero Tournaments. The only reason I managed to survive the torture was because of the Dark Hadou, of which I thanked Gouki for training me. He killed Guile's friend and Chun Li's father. Normally, I am against taking another life, but given Bison's track record, he needed to be stopped."

Gen nodded. "Indeed. The world is a much better place without his reign of terror plaguing the world."

Chun Li nodded as well. "He would have me scouted, since I killed him the first time. He was probably expecting either myself or Guile to fight him. He wasn't expecting Ryu to fight him. Once again, his ego was his downfall."

"So...what about that rematch?" Fei asked, turning to Ryu, who was just finishing his third round of meals.

Ryu shrugged his shoulders "Why not? I need to burn this food off anyway."

Fei grinned. "Meet me at my training grounds in thirty minutes."

* * *

Fei Long's personal training grounds overlooked the city of Hong Kong in an impressive scenic view. Dressed in his dark Chinese trousers and slippers, Fei stretched as he waited for Ryu to show up, as Gen, Yun and Yang watched.

Ryu didn't take too long to arrive. Dressed in a fresh white karate dogi, walking barefoot, he was busy yanking the remaining sleeve off before handing the cloth to Chun Li, who trailed behind. Ryu's new fighting gloves (his SF3 version) were tucked into his belt. The Ansatsuken warrior pulled them out and slipped them onto his hands. They felt a lot like his old gloves, which, ironically, Fei had accidentally destroyed with his _Shienkyaku_.

Making sure that everything was secured Ryu, faced Fei. The pair then turned and paid their respect to Gen, Fei, one hand in the other, bowing in the Chinese fashion, while Ryu bowed deeply towards the older man, who responded with a single nod. They turned, facing each other, and bowed to one another.

Gen stepped in between the two. "Ready? GO!"

Both men snapped into their stances, Fei bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet, while Ryu remained in his normal stance.

Chun Li, as well as Yun and Yang looked at Ryu as he remained in his stance. Back during the tournament, the former Interpol agent rarely paid attention to Ryu or Ken whenever they fought, since she was occupied with getting revenge. Now, along with Yun and Yang, she studied Ryu's fighting stance.

It was a classic Ansatsuken fighting stance, of which Ryu and Ken used, as well as Gouki. His left arm led out in front, deceptively low but ready to parry away a slew of assaults from any angle, while his right was held closer to his face, clenched into a loose fist which could attack or defend at a moment's notice.

Fei tested Ryu's defenses with several punches, followed by a power foot sweep. Ryu blocked the blows and raised one leg, causing the power sweep to miss. Fei blocked the overhead punch delivered by Ryu, but failed to see the knee coming in until it connected to his chin, knocking Fei into the air. Ryu then spun, planting the sole of his foot into Fei's torso.

The audience winced as Fei landed on his back hard. But the action star was back on his feet, just as Ryu methodically closed in on him. Fei lunged in with a kick, only to have Ryu sidestep the attack, but the Ansatsuken warrior staggered from the impact of Fei's elbow to the small of his back, which allowed Fei the advantage.

Fei lunged forward, his right fist impacting three times in Ryu's back in the form of his Rekkaken, the final blow sending Ryu to the ground.

Ryu shrugged off the blows and hopped back to his feet. Going back into his stance, he feinted a kick, by raising his leg. Fei fell for it and blocked low, only to have Ryu nail him with a right cross and that was followed by a perfectly-executed Joudan Sokutou Geri – the High-angle Blade Kick, which knocked Fei down.

Ryu was in the air, coming down on Fei, who barely rolled out of the way, just as Ryu's fist impacted where his head had been moments earlier, leaving a nice impact crater in the ground.

As the fight continued, Gen watched in approval. "Ryu has improved a great deal," the old man said, running one hand through his beard in thought. "He certainly has come a long way since his match with Sagat."

Yun and Yang turned to their master. Gen saw the look on their faces and nodded. "I've known Ryu for a long time. His senseis are close friends of mine. He was in some cases, arrogant, but as time passes, he seemed to mellow out and became more humble."

"Of course," Chun Li continued, "that doesn't stop him from fighting." She then winced as Ryu nailed Fei with an uppercut that launched Fei into the air. Fei landed on his back yet again. Hhe hopped back to his feet and charged in. For the next two minutes the two men traded blows. As the audience watched, Fei was getting the worst of it. That didn't mean Ryu was getting through this battle unscathed.

After delivering a barrage of punches, kicks, not to mention trading curses in both Chinese and Japanese, the two men broke apart. But not for long. After catching a second wind, Ryu closed in. Fei saw him coming and quickly reacted.

"WAA-TAA!!"

Ryu stopped in his tracks, just as Fei launched himself spinning into the air, legs stretched in a vertical split, the upper leg engulfed in flames as Fei executed the _Shienkyaku_ – the Rising Dragon Kick. Ryu had been hit twice with that move before, both times the attack had destroyed his fighting gloves...not to mention that the attack reminded him of Ken's scorching Dragon Punch – they both hurt like crap.

Fei noticed something was wrong when he didn't feel Ryu being struck by the attack. He then noticed that Ryu was on the ground, one hand balled into a fist.

The last thought that Fei had as he fell back to the ground was, 'Aw, crud.'

Ryu didn't miss. "Shoryuken!"

**CRACK.**

Fist met jaw in the form of the _Shoryuken_, the Dragon Wave Punch. Ryu landed on his feet, while Fei landed on his back for the final time, out cold, effectively ending the match.

Gen walked over to Fei and nudged the downed action star with one shoe. "Hmm...he'll be out cold for a while," the old man noted. He then turned to Yun and Yang. "Pick him up and carry him back to the Genhanten."

Yun and Yang nodded and did as they were told, with Gen following them after telling Ryu and Chun Li farewell for the night. Meanwhile, Chun Li was tending to Ryu. He had numerous bruises and was done over pretty good, but Chun Li knew that he would heal.

"You had the _Shienkyaku _scouted," the female Chinese martial artist noted.

Ryu nodded. "I've been hit by that move twice already. Also burned two pairs of my gloves when he did it. So yeah, I was expecting him to do it."

Chun Li giggled. "Poor Ryu. Come on. It's late and I need to tend to your wounds. We'll visit tomorrow before we leave for the village."

* * *

Nerima Ward, the following day...

Inside her room, Nabiki Tendou looked through a copy of a school file. The name on the file read **KASUGANO, SAKURA**.

Ever since the fight between her sister and Sakura, Nabiki had decided not to pursue Sakura, since she had done nothing wrong. But that didn't stop her from using her informant's cousin to get Sakura's file from Tamagawa. And knowing the craziness that surrounded Nerima, Nabiki knew that Akane would have another run-in with Sakura Kasugano.

The informant's cousin was very thorough. She had acquired Sakura's school record, as well as some extra info concerning not only her, but her sensei and her martial arts school.

Sipping at her tea, Nabiki had the manila folder open as she scanned its contents. "Kasugano Sakura. No middle name. Born in Setagaya-ku 2-5 Choume, Tokyo...seventeen years old – same age as me...five-feet-three, 107 pounds, father is a businessman, mother is a housewife, younger brother's name is Tsukushi Kasugano...parents moved to Ohkayama while Sakura remained behind as a ward to her sensei. Favorite subject is gym, with track and field as her specialty. Hates math and playing videogames with her brother. Her specialties are cooking – her favorite dish is white rice, and speaking English fluently. A-plus average...blah-blah-blah, the rest I already know."

Nabiki closed the file and opened a second one. The file was mostly pictures. Apparently, Sakura was well-known in some of the teen fight circles in the city, as the pictures showed. Several of them were quite interesting, as they showed Sakura fighting a blonde girl in a red sailor fuku.

'That's Karin Kanzuki, heiress to the Kanzuki family fortune,' Nabiki realized. 'Didn't know that Kasugano had a rival on her hands.'

Nabiki knew about Karin Kanzuki as well. Turns out that she was attending Saint Hebreke's Girls Academy until she had gotten into a fight with Kunou's sister, Kodachi. Kodachi had lost and Karin's father had transferred her to Seiujin Girls School. The Kanzuki family motto was 'in all things, be victorious,' and Nabiki guessed that Sakura had defeated Karin in combat and Karin didn't take it all too well.

One picture stuck out in particular. It was of Sakura, dressed in a blue karate gi, holding a trophy from the past martial arts tournament, smiling for the camera. The man standing beside her was standing nearly six feet tall. The white gi and red headband was a dead giveaway.

Sakura's mentor and guardian was Ryu Houshi.

Even Nabiki knew about the Japanese warrior. Growing up surrounded by martial arts, she had heard the name from her father and several other people. He was not even thirty years old yet and he was already a legend, from his victory over the 'Emperor of Muay Thai' to his victory over the insane Shadowlaw warlord General Bison.

'Sakura runs with some pretty powerful company,' Nabiki thought. 'This is interesting. I can't manipulate her, but getting information won't hurt nobody.'

Downstairs, Kasumi entered the house, holding the day's mail. Soun and Genma were playing shogi, cheating at any and every possibility, Akane was seated in front of the TV, still fuming about her loss. Onna-Ranma was stretched out on the engawa, hands behind her head, enjoying the sun.

"Here is the mail, Father," Kasumi said, handing Soun the bundle of mail.

As Genma took a drink of sake, Soun leafed through the mail. Then he found one with Kasumi's name on it. "This one is for you, Kasumi," he said, handing the envelope back to her.

Puzzled, Kasumi took the envelope and opened it. "Oh my," she said.

Ranma, who had just exited the kitchen munching on an apple, asked, "What is it, Kasumi?" she asked.

"It's an invite to a martial arts tournament," Kasumi replied. In the back of her mind, Kasumi wondered whether or not this was Nodoka's doing. "The Tokyo Regional Martial Arts Tournament. The tournament is two months away."

Akane entered the room. "An invite to a tournament? How come you didn't get one and I didn't?" she demanded.

"You practice the art?" Ranma inquired.

"Practice?" Nabiki repeated as she entered the room. "Kasumi **is **the art. She is a Shihan in Daddy's style, as well a black belt in kendo."

Ranma turned to Kasumi. "Is that true?" she asked.

"Yes, Ranma. It's true," Kasumi admitted. "Before Mother died, I was the undefeated junior martial arts champion. I stopped competing when she passed, but ever since, I kept in practice." She then turned to Genma with an innocent smile. "Isn't that right, Uncle Saotome?"

Genma nervously nodded. The day before Akane's fight with Sakura, Kasumi had overheard Genma's rude comments concerning the female gender. Kasumi responded by getting dressed in her karate dogi and hauling Genma into the training hall. Within minutes, screams were heard as Kasumi turned Genma into a human pretzel, while at the same time, getting an apology out of the fat man as Soun watched, thankful that he had stopped having those thoughts when he married his wife.

Akane, on the other hand, was furious. "How come she gets an invitation and I doesn't?" she demanded again. "I'm a martial artist too!"

"Maybe it's you refuse to acknowledge that someone is better than you," Nabiki suggested. When Akane glared at her, Nabiki added. "What? You can't get mad for me telling the truth."

Akane fumed. "Whatever." She then stormed off.

Ranma watched her walk off and frowned. "So if Kasumi is a master in Anything Goes, why isn't she teaching Akane?"

"I tried," Kasumi replied. "But Akane refuses to let me teach her, since she wants to learn on her own. She lets her emotions control her instead of the other way around. I told her that if she doesn't get her temper under control then I will stop teaching her. She failed to do so, and I stopped training her. This was...three years ago."

"In effect," Soun added, "Akane isn't the true heir to the dojo. Kasumi is."

"So why am I engaged to the macho chick?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi shrugged her shoulders. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. I need to get started on dinner. Ramna, will you help me train?"

The cursed martial artist nodded. "Sure."


	7. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six**_

A.N.: "**bold text**" denotes speaking Chinese.

Bayankala Mountain Region, China, several days later...

Once their business with Gen was done in Hong Kong, Chun Li and Ryu were on their way, heading into Western China.

Getting through the provinces was easy enough. Mainly because of Chun Li's connections with local Communist Party officials, several of which were also members of the Chinese Amazons. Which meant Ryu and Chun Li had no problems in making their way to the village of the Joketsuzoku.

The shortest way through, however, was through the cursed springs known as Jusenkyou. Ryu and Chun Li both knew this, and decided to head through the training grounds...as well as avoid being splashed.

Both were dressed for a long journey...well, at least Chun Li was, since she was clad in hiking clothes, hiking pack slung over her back, while Ryu went in his usual gi and headband. His duffel bag was slung over one shoulder, his clothes still inside, among other things. What surprised Chun Li was the fact that he was walking barefoot. In the back of her mind, both Ryu and Chun Li had the strange feeling that they were being followed.

"I still don't see how you can walk barefoot," Chun Li noted.

"**Trade secret,**" Ryu replied. "**It toughens the feet up. Makes them rough.**"

"**Now you're showing off,**" Chun Li replied. "**You didn't say that you spoke my language. And perfectly, I might add.**"

"**I did,**" Ryu replied. "**Shortly after our match. Remember?**"

"**Oh. You did.**"

They were halfway through when they ran into a short fat man wearing a Maoist uniform, complete with cap. "**Welcome, honored sirs to Jusenkyou,**" he greeted. "**I am the Jusenkyou Guide.**" He then turned to Ryu. "**Wait...I remember you. You came by here several months earlier.**"

Ryu nodded. "**I have. Right now, we are just passing through to the village of the Nyuchezu.**"

"**What do you want with the Chinese Amazons?**" the Guide asked. "**Very bad for your companion should she loses to one of them. It can mean the Kiss of Death. You should do well to keep away from the Amazons, if you value your life.**"

"**No need,**" Chun Li replied. "**I am of the Nyuchezu. I am visiting my grandmother, who is one of the elders there. We are walking through Jusenkyou as a shortcut.**"

Ryu noticed something on the ground. "**What's this?**" he asked, crouching down and picking up an strange item. It was a slender container and a ladle.

The Guide recognized it immediately. "**That, honored sir, is one of the relics of the Musk Dynasty – the Preservation Ladle.**"

Chun Li looked at the item. "**So that's the Ladle.**"

Ryu nodded. "**And it's filled with water.**"

The Guide nodded. "**Yes, honored sir. The Musk have been here as of late. They must have forgotten the item when they returned to their home.**"

Chun Li carefully secured the open end of the container and placed it inside her backpack, along with the ladle. "**We'll hand it over to my grandmother. Maybe she will know what to do with them.**"

"**You know,**" the Guide said, "**this area have been very busy as of late. You two are the second and third persons to come through here today.**"

"**Glad to know that business is good for you,**" Ryu said. "**Feel like taking a break?**" he asked Chun Li.

"**Just as long you don't make me train over those pools,**" Chun Li replied. "**I don't want to explain to my grandmother why I got a Jusenkyou curse.**"

* * *

The Jusenkyou Guide, along with his daughter Plum, played hosts to Chun Li and her companion. Plum cooked, while the Guide entertained their two guests with stories about the cursed springs, while Ryu paid the favor by telling stories about hi s exploits to the Guide and his daughter once lunch was served.

After finishing their food, Ryu pulled out several yuan notes and handed them over to the Guide. Chun Li was outside, gathering her and Ryu's things.

That's when they heard something outside. Sounds of screaming and cursing.

Upon hearing the unmistakable sounds of a fight, Ryu and the two Chinese rushed outside. They found Chun Li, balancing on one of the bamboo poles, facing her attacker, who was also on a bamboo pole. Ryu recognized him immediately, since the blue-and-yellow matador pants, the blond hair and the coiling snake tattoo was a dead giveaway.

The Guide spoke first, in bad English. "Aiya! No fighting over spring! Very bad if you get cursed!"

Chun Li ignored him as she faced off against her opponent. "Should have known it was you that was following us, Vega. Still mad about what I did to your face?"

Beneath his mask, Vega grinned evilly. "Of course, my pretty. There is no way I would let you escape for what you did to my face." He brought up his left hand, which was, as always armed with his signature weapon: the three-pronged, razor-sharp claw.

Back in the World Warrior tournament, Chun Li had fought against Vega. The Spanish psychopath had delayed Chun Li long enough to allow Ryu a clear shot at Bison. Chun Li narrowly won in her match against the self-proclaimed 'Spanish Ninja,' but it was Vega who had taken the most damage, mainly to his face. Vega would swear revenge once the surgery was complete.

He had carved a path of destruction in China, killing several women. Then he came across an Amazon scouting party and injured several of them in the ensuing fight. Now he was on the run from a hunting party of enraged Joketsuzoku Amazons, but decided to take a detour when he saw Chun Li with Ryu.

"You're going to pay in blood and flesh for what you did to my face," Vega sneered. "And your Japanese friend will watch."

They both leapt into the air. Vega was in for a big surprise. In the months that Chun Li had stayed with Ryu, he had taught her basic and intermediate forms of aerial combat, of which Chun Li had incorporated into her fighting style. As Vega reached out to try and grab Chun Li for his Izuna Slam, he was surprised to be on the receiving end of a barrage of punches and kicks while still in midair, the last punting him downward, straight into a spring, where he landed with a loud **SPLASH**.

Chun Li landed on the bamboo stalk and hopped down to solid ground beside Ryu. He looked at her, catching the particulary evil look in her eyes.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Ryu asked.

Chun Li didn't say anything as she stared out into the pool in which she knocked Vega into. Sure enough, Vega reappeared, crawling to the pool's edge, coughing before getting into a standing position.

"You think that knocking me into a spring is going to stop me?" Vega sneered.

It was then Vega noticed something was wrong.

His center of balance was off. When he spoke, his voice had changed, sounding more feminine. When he looked down, instead of a flat muscular chest, he saw a pair of women's breasts, not to mention that he had developed feminine curves. The snake tattoo was still present.

The Guide 'tsk-tsk-ed.' "Too bad. You got knocked into Spring of Drowned Girl," he said. "Very tragic story of young girl who drowned in spring fifteen hundred year ago. Now when splashed with cold water, you take on form of a girl, while hot water changes you back."

Vega – or rather onna-Vega did the one thing she could do.

She screamed.

Before she could rush Chun Li, however, the Amazon scouting party – ten strong - that Vega had been dodging arrived in Jusenkyou. Vega saw them and deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, retreated.

"I'll be back, you bitch!" she screamed. "You're gonna pay for this!"

As Vega retreated, the Amazons approached the Guide, Ryu and Chun Li. Several of the female warriors looked at Ryu as he was a piece of meat, nodding in approval while a few licked their lips at the sight of such a strong male, while the others looked at Chun Li with nothing but contempt.

"**Woman, is this your husband?**" one of the Amazons, armed with a spear asked.

"**No. He is my companion,**" Chun Li replied. "**He is not my husband.**"

"**Then let us fight,**" the spearwoman said, getting into a ready stance. "**The winner will take the male. His blood and fighting power will be a fine addition to the tribe.**"

Chun Li smirked. "**You think you can stop me with that stick?**"

The Amazon charged, just as Ryu and the Guide got out of the way. To the Amazon's surprise, Chun Li yanked the spear out of the woman's hand and in one deft move, spun it around and held the business end at the Amazon's throat. Chun Li then snapped the spear in two over her knee.

"**Be careful who you challenge next time,**" Chun Li warned. "**You might not be so lucky.**"

The Amazon growled. "**You will pay for this, outsider.**"

"**Outsider?**" Chun Li repeated. "**My mother was La She, one of the greatest warriors and healers of the Nyuchezu. My grandmother is Elder Lo Shen. I am Chun Li Xiang, granddaughter to Lo Shen.**"

"**You lie,**" the Amazon snarled. "**You claim to be one of the Nyuchezu, but you are not.**"

"**Is that so, Dow-el?**" an elderly voice said from behind them.

Almost immediately, the scouting party parted as the elderly woman approached. One that both Ryu and Chun Li recognized immediately. She was in her sixties, with grey hair done in the infamous ox-horns. She wore blue Chinese-style robes. In her hand was a staff. Only she didn't use the staff for a brace. It was her signature weapon.

Dow-el turned around. "**You know this woman, Elder?**"

"**I should,**" Lotion replied. "**She is my granddaughter, and therefore a blood member of the tribe. She may be an outsider, but she knows our customs and laws. The male is her companion, and also under my protection.**"

In an instant, Dow-el turned back to Chun Li and bowed, realizing her mistake. "**Honored sister. I apologize for my actions.**"

Lotion cleared her throat. "**Dow-el, you are to continue pursuit of the Westerner.**"

"**He won't be that hard to find,**" Ryu said. "**Chun Li knocked him into the Spring of Drowned Girl.**"

Dow-el nodded and the scouting party departed from the springs, leaving Chun Li and Ryu alone with her grandmother.

In an instant, grandmother and granddaughter were locked in a tight embrace. Even for an old woman, Chun Li knew that her grandmother was strong.

"**Welcome back, granddaughter,**" Lotion said. "**Let me look at you.**" She pushed Chun Li back so she can take a look at her from head to toe. "**My, you are a spitting image of your mother.**" She then noticed Ryu standing with the Guide. "**You brought a guest.**"

Ryu stepped forward. Bowing in the traditional Japanese fashion, he said, "**Elder Lo Shen. It's good to see you are well.**"

"**As I should,**" Lotion replied, grinning. "**there's life in these old bones still. I was surprised to find out in Chun's letter that you were coming with her.**"

"**She invited me to come along,**" Ryu said. "**So I agreed. How is Per-Fume?**"

"**She is well,**" Lotion replied. "**She can't wait for you to arrive. Come. I will take you to the village.**"

* * *

Nerima Ward, Tokyo.

Akane was livid, and has been ever since returning home from the beach.

Following Ranma's Cat-Fu episode, Cologne had conceded and given Ranma the Phoenix Pill, unlocking the Cat's tongue pressure point and returning him to his male form.

As they boarded the train that would take them back to Nerima, they had ran into one of the tournament sponsors for the upcoming regional tournament that Kasumi was preparing to compete in. Even now, she could hear Ranma and Kasumi sparring in the dojo. It would have made her happy to know that Kasumi had defeated Ranma six falls out of ten, but she was instead repeating the events that had taken place back at the train station.

* * *

Flashback

_The Tendou clan, along with Ranma, with his manhood restored and his father, still in panda form, stood on the train platform, waiting for the train that would take them back to Nerima._

_At that moment, a man around Soun's age approached the group. "Excuse me?" he asked. "Are you Kasumi Tendou?"_

_Kasumi faced the man. "I am. Who are you?"_

"_Shinchi Kaneshiro," the man introduced himself. "I run the Kyokushin Karate School in Chiyoda. I'm also one of the sponsors of the Tokyo Regional tournament that is being held in two months. I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Your former sensei spoke highly of you."_

"_Really? How is Yuki-sensei? I heard he retired."_

"_He is doing well. He lives in Akasaka now. He told me about your skills as both a martial artist and a kendoka, and that the tournament would not be complete if you weren't competing. So I pulled a couple of strings and got you the invitation."_

"_What about me?" Akane demanded. "I'm a martial artist too! Why didn't I get an invitation?"_

"_Your sister proved to be worthy of the invite," Kaneshiro replied. "You, on the other hand, are not. I was there that day when you fought that girl – whose sensei I know very well, I might add. A true martial artist must be in complete control of their emotions. You, young Tendou, are the exact opposite. You allow your emotions to control you, and you showed that you have no honor in claiming that the other girl cheated."_

_Normally, Soun would come to his youngest daughter's defense, but he knew that Kaneshiro was right. And even Nabiki showed him the video of the fight. _

"_But she did cheat!" Akane objected in her defense. "And where do you get off in telling me I have no honor?!"_

_Kaneshiro responded with another question. "And where did you get off by claiming to be a master of your father's school? If anything, Kasumi is the master, not you. Until you control your temper, then no one will take you seriously_ as a _martial artist."_

_Kaneshiro departed without further incident, leaving a furious Akane behind._

End Flashback

* * *

Soun had reprimanded her earlier, concerning her previous claim of being a master of the Tendou School of Anything Goes, warning her that should she make a claim like that again, then the consequences will be severe.

Since then, she watched with a jealous eye as Kasumi and Ranma sparred in the dojo. To make things interesting, Kasumi had requested that since she would be competing in the womens' division, Ranma would spar with her in his cursed form. Ranma complied, and now she and Kasumi were sparring in the dojo. As always, Ranma was dressed in her Chinese shirt and pants, while Kasumi was dressed in a black karate gi, the sleeves rolled up at the elbows, with a pair of dark blue hakama split pants, her black belt wrapped around her waist, long hair tied into a single braid.

Aside from Akane, Nabiki and the two fathers watched as Kasumi placed Ranma on the defensive. As Genma found out (the hard way), Ranma discovered that Kasumi hits just as hard as Akane. The middle Tendou daughter was busy taking photos of the sparring session, making a mental thought to sell them later on.

As Ranma landed on her feet from a somersault, she was sent flying across the arena from a powerful kick to the back. She landed at the feet of Genma and Soun, rolled out of the attack and launched herself forward. Kasumi saw her coming and ducked underneath the jump kick.

As the sparring session continued, Soun looked on with pride in his eldest daughter. Akane caught the look and grew even more jealous. When their mother had died, Soun had stopped training Akane, leaving Kasumi for the task. When Akane ignored Kasumi's warnings about her temper, Kasumi stopped training Akane, leaving the youngest of the Tendou girls to practice for herself.

The sparring match was now over, with Kasumi the victor, and Ranma on her back. Kasumi extended a hand, and Ranma accepted it, the strength showing itself again as Kasumi helped Ranma to her feet.

"Wow! You are good," Ranma admitted. "Looks like what Nabiki and your father said was true."

Soun nodded. "Kasumi makes me proud. Ranma, I want you to accompany Kasumi to the Tokyo Regional. Make sure my little girl is safe."

"Father, I am not a little girl," Kasumi objected mildly. "I'm almost twenty years old."

"So? To me, you will always be my little girl," Soun replied. Turning back to Ranma, Soun said, "Ranma, you will accompany Kasumi to the Tokyo Regional."

"I'm going too!" Akane said. Giving Ranma the evil eye, she added, "Just to make sure that Ranma doesn't do anything perverted."

Ranma ignored the the glare.

Kasumi looked down on her sister. "Ranma is not the only reason you want to go, Akane. Even a blind man can see your intentions. You are looking for a rematch against Kasugano. Given who her sensei and her martial arts discipline, she will be there. You can come along, but you will not compete. You will be in my corner for support as well."

When it looked like Akane was going to try and argue, Kasumi landed the nail in the coffin. "Akane, you know that I can just as easily ban you from using Anything Goes as can Father. As a master of the family style, I can do that. Don't make me exercise that option."

Akane paled. "You're bluffing."

"Am I, little sister?" Kasumi retorted in a fashion that would (and can) made Nabiki's businesslike demeanor look pale in comparison. "You can call my bluff if you like."

Ranma and Genma watched this scene unfold in front of them. Apparently, Kasumi Tendou may be the perfect hostess, but apparently, she was the one person that could keep Akane in line when Soun couldn't. Genma had already learned the hard way that Kasumi wasn't the woman to cross. In Genma's opinion, he would be better off facing Nodoka's wrath.

Akane then gave in. "Fine."

* * *

Joketsuzoku Amazon Village – China

Chun Li looked at the village through the bedroom window. 'This place...it hasn't changed not one bit.'

She had spent summers here with her mother. When her mother passed, Gen would escort her to the village of the Chinese Amazons.

The village surrounded the forest on one side, while on of the other side, stood the majestic Bayankala Mountains. It consisted of a collection of houses, big and small, with a large common area, which also served as its public square. At the farthest end of the village, stood the challenge log, suspended by two A-frame structures on either side. Men and women, mostly women, went about their business.

Ryu and Chun Li had settled into the guestroom inside Lotion's home. At the moment, said Ansatsuken warrior was in the bed, taking a nap, while Chun Li watched him, but only for a moment before looking out the window. It was late in the afternoon. Soon, it would be time for the village festival celebrating the new moon.

Chun Li decided to let her boyfriend sleep and exited the room. Upon entering the common area, she found her grandmother. It was as if Lotion was expecting Chun Li, since she had two teacups out, a kettle filled with tea seated on the table.

Lotion gestured to the empty chair. Chun Li sat down and poured both herself and her grandmother two cups of tea. Chun Li looked at the tea. "**Formosa Oolong.**"

Lotion nodded. "**It's one of my favorites. You decided to come by at the right time, granddaughter. Tomorrow is the Festival of the New Moon. I hope that you and your companion would stay long enough to attend.**"

"**That was my intention, Grandmother,**" Chun Li replied. "**Ryu and I planned on staying in the village for a couple of days. Then I will head back to Japan.**"

Lotion nodded. "**So what Gen has told me is true. You are no longer an operative of the I.C.P.O. But why return to Japan?**"

"**I could return to Hong Kong, but that would be unfair to Ryu,**" Chun Li replied. "**He has taken on a student in Ansatsuken. And right now, things are still too bad in Hong Kong. I don't think I can ever return back there. So I'll stay with him.**"

Lotion sipped at her tea. "**Hmm...I also heard that prior to your stay in Japan, that you challenged Ryu to combat. Did you win?**"

Chun Li shook her head. "**No, Grandmother. I lost.**"

"**You know the law as well as I do. So why haven't you given him the Kiss of Marriage?**"

"**Because I want him to love me just for me, not for honor or because of the laws. I want him as much as he wants me.**"

Lotion humped. "**I sense your mother's defiance in you. That is something you can do without.**" Lotion paused for a moment. "**You know I would never hold you to the laws, right? I almost lost my daughter to them when Dourai was courting her.**"

Chun Li knew this all too well. Her father had met her mother in Shanghai, where she was attending university on a medical scholarship. Lotion was against her mother dating her father. Fortunately, she relented when Lace gave birth to a daughter.

Chun Li then remembered something. Excusing herself for a moment, she returned moments later with the Preservation Ladle.

Lotion recognized the relic immediately. "**The Chisuton – the Ladle of Preservation. How did you get this?**"

"**Ryu and I found it at Jusenkyou. I thought the Musk were long gone.**"

Lotion shook her head. "**Far from it. They are still here, as well as the people of the Ho'ou. Speaking of the Musk, how did Ryu take it when you told him about our ancestry?**"

"**He didn't faint, at least,**" Chun Li replied. "**He figured it out on his own.**" Chun Li then explained to her grandmother about the incident with the Youma and the Shibito, not to mention Ryu using the Breaking Point.

Lotion chuckled. "**Smart man, your companion is. You know, if I was your age again, I would fight you for him. But I can see that he has eyes for you, Li.**"

Chun Li smiled as she continued to chat with her grandmother.

* * *

Nerima Ward.

Akane looked over the invitation and grinned. Now Kasumi couldn't stop her from competing in the Tokyo Regional. Although she was competing in the junior division, she knew that Sakura would also be fighting in the same division, while Kasumi fought in the womens' division.

Donning her yellow gi, she went down to the dojo and begin to practice.

When Kasumi found out that Akane had received an invite to the tournament, she frowned. Suspecting that Nodoka possibly had a hand in this, she pulled out the card and making sure that no one was listening in, dialed the number. Seconds later, someone picked up on the end.

"Moshi-moshi, Komiya Imports."

"Can I speak to President Tosa?" Kasumi asked.

"Speaking. This is a surprise, Kasumi," Nodoka said on the other end. "I wasn't expecting you to call."

"Akane has received an invite to the regional tournament," Kasumi said. "Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Not this time around," Nodoka replied. "The person responsible for the invite is someone who knows both your sister and my son very well. Tatewaki Kunou. He is also competing in the tournament in the juniors' kendo division."

Kasumi knew well about Kunou's obsession with both Akane and Ranma's cursed side. Kunou was also responsible for sending half of the male students at Fuurinkan after Akane prior to Ranma's arrival with his claim that if anyone defeated Akane in combat, then she would date the winner.

"Auntie, this is getting out of hand," Kasumi said. "Akane is going to go after that girl who defeated her."

"I know. But there are over thirty martial teenage artists who are better than your sister," Nodoka pointed out. "Akane has her work cut out for her."

"But she still thinks that she could be the best without me or Father trying to teach her," Kasumi pointed out. "I was hoping that what had happened between her and the Kasugano girl would knock some sense into her. Instead, it only made her even angrier."

Nodoka was silent for a moment. "Unless...this tournament can be a blessing in disguise."

"How so?"

"If Akane could defeat some of the low-level fighters, then work her way through the ranks, she will sure enough meet someone who is more skilled than her," Nodoka explained. "Only then will she realize that she is not the best."

"Hmm...I never saw it that way, Auntie," Kasumi said. She then heard the shoji door open and close, which was followed by Nabiki's voice. "Nabiki's home, Auntie. I got to go."

"We'll talk later," Nodoka said before hanging up.

Kasumi hung up the phone just as a grinning Nabiki entered the kitchen, looking for a snack. In the past couple of weeks since Nodoka revealed what she knew about the Tendou family's finances, Kasumi's attitude cooled considerably towards her middle sister. Nabiki only wrote it off as Kasumi disagreeing on how she would manipulate and blackmail Ranma, telling her elder sister that the money was going towards the family. Kasumi knew better, and she fought the urge not to deck Nabiki for her lies. The next time she called Nodoka, she would ask which accounts Nabiki hid the money in.

Nabiki considered using her betting pools in the Tokyo Regionals, but quickly decided against it. She knew that the Yakuza would be watching out for fresh recruits and should word come out that she was organizing betting pools, then they would be at her doorstep, demanding a slice of the action, and more than likely, putting her family at risk.

Kasumi went on to prepare dinner.


	8. Chapter Seven

_**Chapter Seven**_

Joketsuzoku Amazon Village – China

It was early in the morning when Ryu Houshi woke up. Taking great lengths not to wake up his sleeping girlfriend, he gently removed his arm from her side, and slipped out of the bed. After getting some fresh clothes, he walked out of the house and after taking a bath in the village's public baths, was dressed in a fresh white karate gi and his trademark headband.

Ryu strolled over to the challenge log, nodding greetings to passing Joketsuzoku, who allowed him to pass without incident. As he did every morning, he went through a meditation kata. No wasted movement in his forms, no rushing. The morning was peaceful. With his training of Sakura not to mention being challenged by every martial artist looking to make a name for him or herself, Ryu valued and cherished mornings like these, where he could meditate undisturbed.

"**Hey, honored brother!**"

Ryu turned around at the sound of the voice. There was a young Chinese Amazon approaching him. She was around Sakura's age and was dressed in the same manner as one of the Joketsuzoku – a short-sleeved shirt and matching leggings. A black sash was around her waist. Her short dark hair was neatly combed back.

Ryu recognized her immediately and smiled. "**Per-fume. Congratulations on completing your training. Lo Shen is very** **proud of you. And please, call me Ryu.**"

Per-fume blushed. "**Thank you, honored – I mean Ryu. I heard that Lo Shen's granddaughter is here.**"

Ryu pointed to the house. "**She is. She's is still sleeping. I've also heard that Elder Lo Shen has arranged it for you to attend university in Shanghai. Any idea as to what you're going to major in?**"

"**Eastern Philosophy. I also want to study medicine.**"

Ryu nodded in approval. "**That's good, Per-Fume. You should go and see the world.**"

"**I know. Some of the others have lives outside the village. I want to see what it's like.**" Per-fume paused for a moment. "**Since you're here, why don't you spar with me.**"

"**On the log?**" Ryu asked.

Per-fume nodded.

"**Fine. I accept your challenge.**"

* * *

Azuban-Juuban.

Nodoka Saotome got off the phone with her contact at the bank. Kasumi had called her the previous night with a request concerning Nabiki's finances. After digging around, Nodoka's contact found two accounts with Nabiki's name on them – a checking and savings account, each containing hundreds of thousands of Japanese yen, the combined total coming to nearly two million yen.

'So this is Nabiki's stash,' Nodoka thought. From Kasumi, Nodoka had learned that Ranma had ran up a debt while staying with the Tendous. As Kasumi explained it to Nodoka, the debt was not his fault, since it was either Akane punching him through the roof or the Chinese Amazon breaking the compound walls instead of using the front door. Nabiki even charged Ranma for Genma's slights as well.

After a chat with Kasumi, the two women decided on a course of action. Nodoka's contact with the bank was a skilled computer hacker, working for the Japanese Ministry of Investigation as an undercover agent in keeping a close eye on various finances held by the Japanese Yakuza.

By the time Nabiki would make her weekly cash deposits, she would find out that her accounts would not only be empty, but the accounts themselves would be erased. Nodoka had taken the money from the checking account and placed it into a trust fund for Ranma, while Kasumi took the savings account and had created her personal checking account under her own name. Kasumi already had a savings account with a separate bank, in which she had a sizable amount of money saved from her past martial arts days. Several investments with the help of a friend whose father was a stockbroker and Kasumi had more than enough cash at hand in case of emergencies, not to mention cash for the house.

People would learn never to cross Nabiki Tendou, mainly because she had a talent in finding out anybody's dirty little secret. But Nabiki would soon find out that there is always a person who is better than you in what they do. And unlike Nabiki, Nodoka Saotome could easily back up her threats. She had always looked out for her son, and today was no different.

Nodoka knew that money was not a problem with the Tendou family. Aside from the insurance money from the second policy, Soun also had a steady source of income being part of the Nerima Council, so cash for groceries and utilities was not a problem. Nodoka grinned to herself as she could imagine the reaction of Nabiki finding out that her ill-gotten wealth was now missing.

* * *

Joketsuzoku Village.

Chun Li exited her grandmother's. Like the other females, she was dressed in the clothes of the Joketsuzoku - a red Chinese short-sleeved shirt with yellow trim, matching leggings and blue slippers. Over the shirt she wore a black leather vest and matching wrist guards on her forearms. Her hair was done up in her trademark ox horns, only this time, she had twin braids hanging out of the buns.

She noticed a commotion at the challenge log. When she arrived, she saw her boyfriend fighting with one of the Joketsuzoku Amazons on the log. The girl was armed with a Chinese straight sword, while Ryu was armed simply with a machete, something that he occasionally used in lieu of his sword.

"**I can say that there is never a dull moment with your boyfriend around,**" Lotion said as she stood beside Chun Li.

"**Who's the girl?**" Chun Li asked.

"**Per-fume, one of my pupils. She had just completed her training,**" Lotion replied with pride in her voice. "**She is also the same girl Ryu had found and carried back to the village.**"

They turned back to the match. Per-fume flipped over Ryu, only to have his foot impact against her back, sending her careening over the edge of the challenge log.

Fortunately, Ryu caught her and pulled her back to the log before she could hurt herself. After making sure that she was okay, Ryu hopped down from the log, followed by Per-fume.

"**You fought well,**" Ryu remarked. "**But a word of advice: be mindful of your surroundings and never sacrifice your footing for anything, even if it is for a killing blow.**"

Per-fume nodded. "**Yes, honored brother.**"

Once Per-fume had left, the gathered Amazons began to disperse. Ryu turned to Chun Li. "**You look amazing.**"

The former Interpol agent beamed. "**Thanks. The last time I wore this was when I was only seventeen. That was when I completed the Joketsuzoku training. I'm still amazed that it still fits.**" She then snaked her arm around Ryu's own. "**Care to take a girl out to breakfast?**"

Ryu smiled. "**Sure.**"

* * *

Nerima Ward.

Nabiki wasn't very happy.

She had made a killing earlier at school, selling pictures of Ranma's cursed side and of Akane to the male student body at Fuurinkan, not to mention the people she had been blackmailing had paid up, lest she would expose their dirty little secrets to the world.

Upon arriving at her bank, she was shocked to find out that her accounts no longer existed, which meant that she had lost all her money. Nearly a million yen, vanished into thin air. It was at that moment, her 'Ice Queen' persona had cracked as she did the think that was unlike her.

She screamed.

If Ranma had saw her that day, he would have been grinning from ear-to-ear at the sight of Nabiki losing control. If anyone else from Fuurinkan or her henchwomen saw Nabiki that day, they would have questioned her sanity.

Nabiki returned to Nerima, furious. As she stormed the streets of Nerima heading towards home, only one thing was going through her mind. 'Whoever did this is going to pay. No one messes with Nabiki Tendou and gets away with it. I am going to make them see hell for what they did to me!'

Taking several deep breaths, she approached the family home. Upon checking the mail, she saw one envelope addressed to her. Curious, she took the envelope, opened it and saw that it was a note, neatly typed. As she read it, her expression changed to that of cold fury.

_**How was your visit to the bank, Miss Tendou? Let this be a reminder to you as to what your limits are. Be careful who you blackmail. It may come back to haunt you in the end, for those who walk the path of evil will eventually face justice. **_

Nabiki looked around. She didn't see nobody that looked out of the ordinary. 'Someone is messing with me,' she thought. 'Whoever it is, they are going to pay...with interest!'

A sinking thought then occurred to her. Has the Yakuza found out about her enterprise? If so, how long will it be before they arrive on her doorstep? That would explain why her money was missing. Two years of work, gone in a blink of an eye.

She then shook her head. 'The Japanese Mafia would have been at my doorstep by now,' she thought as she entered the house. 'Saotome isn't capable of this, nor is his father. The Fiancée Brigade and Ranma's rivals are not responsible. And I'd bankrupt Kunou if he tried anything this crazy.'

She was still thinking as she entered the kitchen, where Kasumi was preparing dinner. Kasumi caught the look on her sister's face and asked, "Something wrong, Nabiki?"

The 'Ice Queen' shook her head. "Just a little trouble at the bank," she replied as she invaded the fridge.

Kasumi smiled inwardly. 'Looks like she found out about Auntie Saotome's stunt at the bank.'

When Nodoka found out about Nabiki pimping out her son for her own ends, her first thought was to have her arrested. Instead, at Kasumi's suggestion, Nodoka decided to hit Nabiki where it would hurt her the most – her bank accounts. One half of the cash went into Ranma's trust fund, which was in Nodoka's name to keep Genma from spending it once Ranma was old enough, while Kasumi's share was divided into two - one went into her savings account while the other went into a hidden account she had created for her family.

It was also Auntie Saotome who had left the note addressed to Nabiki with the mail. Nabiki was good with blackmail and extortion, but when it came down to Psychological Warfare, however, Nodoka Komiya Saotome was one of the best.

In the back of her mind, Kasumi felt bad for Nabiki. Well, almost. She had turned a blind eye to Nabiki's scheming, but once she found out that Soun had used the insurance money to pay the family home off following the death of his wife, and that Nabiki was just using her family as an excuse, Kasumi decided that enough was enough. She knew that she couldn't act, but Nodoka could.

What Kasumi saw was just how powerful and influential that Nodoka could be. 'Nabiki should be careful from this point on,' Kasumi thought. 'Otherwise, this could get nasty.'

* * *

Joketsuzoku Village - China.

The Festival of the New Moon. The Joketsuzoku have long celebrated the festival since its founding some three-thousand years earlier. The New Moon Festival celebrated the coming of the new moon, as well as celebrating those who have completed their training, thus becoming full-fledged members of the Joketsuzoku. There were even some Joketsuzoku who had settled outside the village aside from Chun Li who had returned with their husbands and children to celebrate the festival and to celebrate the new generation of the Joketsuzoku.

Over fifty women had completed the training, thus becoming full-blooded warriors of the Joketsuzoku, Per-fume included. Once the ceremony was over, the festivities began. Ryu had never been to the village during the festival. Chun Li had been several times and she acted as a guide, showing Ryu around the town.

Little did they know that the festivities would come to a screeching halt with the return of a certain Spanish Ninja. His manhood restored with hot water, Vega returned to the village in disguise. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, he kept the Japanese Ansatsuken fighter and the Chinese martial artist in his sights.

Vega watched the couple with nothing but intense hatred in his eyes. Prior to Jusenkyou, he had a couple of run-ins with both Ryu and Chun Li. Ryu had fought the Spanish psychopath back in the Zero tournament and Vega lost. During the last tournament, he had taken a sadistic interest in Chun Li, envisioning the many ways he could make her suffer.

Following Shadowlaw's downfall, Vega was on the most wanted list from every law enforcement agency from MI-6 to Interpol. Sagat, having long since tendered his resignation, was left unmolested. Balrog was last seen in Las Vegas and was not considered a threat. The Shadowlaw Elite Squad, better known as the Dolls, were MIA.

That left Vega.

After Chun Li had mangled his face, Vega had retreated to his native Spain. After several thousand dollars' worth of surgery to repair his face, Vega decided to get his revenge on Chun Li. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, he found out through his contacts in Interpol that Chun Li was no longer in the city, having relocated to Japan. Suspecting that she was involved with Ryu, Vega simply waited, biding his time.

The time came when Chun Li decided to return to China for a visit.

And now, he would kill both Ryu and Chun Li. He would take pleasure in killing Chun Li later on that night, payback for getting him cursed. But first, he had to get Ryu out of the way.

In his anticipation of catching Ryu and Chun Li off guard, Vega became careless. As he hopped over one roof, a Joketsuzoku guard caught sight of him.

"**INTRUDER! WE HAVE AN INTRUDER!**" The guard screamed...just before Vega naled her with the Izuna Drop. Instant knockout.

Chun Li and Ryu turned around, just in time to see Vega strike. She quickly made a beeline back to Lotion's hut. Ryu, in the meantime, rushed forward to deal with the Spanish Ninja.

By the time the Joketsuzoku had armed themselves and zeroed in on Vega, the fight had carried out to the town square. He was without his mask, but was still armed with his claw. From the look of things, the curse had made Vega lose it completely.

Ryu was considering leading Vega to the challenge log, but pushed that thought out of his head as he dodged another claw swipe from the Spanish Ninja. A combination of punches and kicks, aimed at Vega's face and chest, found their mark, each time, the audience cheered.

Vega lashed out with the claw once again, only to get it stuck as he embedded it into the side of a house. Ryu quickly disarmed him and was in the air, spinning, lashing out with his Hurricane Gale Kick, the blow sending Vega crashing into several barrels filled with water. Almost immediately, the curse was triggered, Vega changing into a woman.

The gathered audience were not shocked, to say the least, as they have seen the effects of Jusenkyou beforehand. Onna-Vega slowly rose from the destroyed barrels, shaking the stars from her head. It was at that moment Vega noticed Chun Li standing beside Ryu.

Ryu looked to his right, and saw Chun Li. In her hand, hidden from Vega's point of view, was a ornate ladle, filled with water. Almost immediately, Ryu realized Chun Li's intentions.

With a roar, Vega lunged at the pair. Chun Li responded quickly, thrusting the ladle outward, the crystal-clear water splashing Vega across the head.

Vega coughed. "What was that?" she sneered. "You think that turning me into a girl is going to stop me from killing you?"

Chun Li smiled evilly. "I don't really think you understand the full gravity of the situation, Vega." She brandished the ladle, twirling it in one hand. "Your curse is locked, thanks to this little item. Since you hate women so much, enjoy being one...for the rest of your life."

"You lie," Vega sneered.

Vega was so focused on Ryu and Chun Li that he didn't notice Per-fume approach from behind, holding a large clay bowl full of hot water. The Chinese Amazon then splashed Vega. Thankfully, the water wasn't hot enough to scald the cursed martial artist, but it was enough to get his attention.

"GAH! THAT'S HOT!" Vega screamed.

It was at that moment, she noticed something was terribly wrong.

She had not changed back to her male form. In an instant, the cursed Spaniard turned back to Chun Li, who still held the ladle in one hand, an evil grin on her face. Chun Li was telling the truth. Vega was locked in his – now her – cursed for for the rest of her life.

"You...you..." Vega sputtered. "YOU BITCH!"

She charged towards Chun Li, who tossed the ladle to Ryu. When Vega got within range, Chun Li reacted.

As the audience watched, Chun Li lunged forward, one leg extended, striking Vega repeatedly in her face, chest and torso with blinding speed. Then she switched over to her other leg, doing the same thing, pummeling Vega with machine gun-like kicks. Chun Li then completed the move by punting Vega into the air with a kick that ended with her doing a vertical split.

The cursed Spanish Ninja was out like a light.

* * *

After things had calmed down, Chun Li tended to Ryu's injuries. They were both in the guest bedroom back in Lotion's house, Ryu naked from the waist up, seated on the edge of the bed. After Chun Li had put down Vega, several of the Joketsuzoku, who were members of the Chinese military police, had Vega taken away. In the ensuing fight, Ryu had sustained numerous bruises. Thankfully, he managed to avoid getting slashed by Vega's claw. Speaking of Vega's trademark weapon, the Joketsuzoku had kept it as a trophy.

Lotion stood in the doorway, arms folded across her chest. "**That was an interesting move you did, Li. You took the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken training to a different level.**"

Without stopping her work on Ryu, Chun Li replied, "**I decided to use the speed training as an offensive technique. That move I did was an enhanced version of my **_**Hykaretsukyaku**_**. I call it the **_**Houyokusen.**__"_

"**'The Fanning Wings of the Phoenix,'**" Lotion translated. "**Catchy.**" She then turned to Ryu. "**The council wishes to thank you for your assistance in dealing with Vega. The tribe is thankful in having you as an ally.**" She looked at her granddaughter. "**And I know that my granddaughter is thankful to have you as her companion.**" Her expression then faltered. "**However, the council has asked that you return the Preservation Ladle back to the Guide, where he will give it back to the Musk.**"

Ryu nodded. "**Of course, Elder.**"


	9. Chapter Eight

_**Chapter Eight**_

Ansatsuken Dojo, several days later.

Following their trip to China, Ryu and Chun Li returned to Japan.

Upon their arrival at the Ansatsuken Dojo, they entered the dojo and found Gouken and Gouki inside. Also inside was Ken, as well as Sakura. At the moment, Sakura was in the middle of a sparring session with someone Ryu nor Chun Li haven't seen before.

Sakura was in the middle of a sparring session with a boy around her age. From the look of things, given the boy's complexion, he was South American, dressed in a tattered yellow karate gi. Ryu noticed that the boy was fighting with Ansatsuken techniques – the kind that Ken would normally use.

Ryu watched as the sparring session progressed. From the look of things, Sakura had kept up with her training, thanks to Gouken and Gouki. But the newcomer wasn't no slouch either.

"Stop!" Gouken ordered.

Almost immediately, Sakura and the boy ceased their fighting and took a step back. The two teenagers bowed to each other before bowing to the two Ansatsuken grandmasters.

Ken was grinning. "So what do you think, Sensei?"

Gouken nodded approvingly. "I'm impressed. You've trained him well."

Ken turned to Ryu. "Hey, buddy. How was China?" he asked as he and Ryu tapped fists in their usual greeting.

"I'll tell you about it later," Ryu replied. "It was interesting this time around." He looked over at the new kid, who was chatting with Sakura. "Who's the kid?"

Ken beamed. "He's my pupil. I've been training him for a while now, about as long as you've been training Sakura. Hey, Sean!"

Immediately, the kid walked over to Ryu and Ken. "Yes, Master Ken?" he asked in English.

"Ryu, this is my student, Sean Matsuda. Sean, this is my friend and rival, Ryu Houshi."

Sean bowed. "Pleasure to meet you, Master Ryu," Sean said.

Ryu noticed that he was speaking Brazilian Portuguese. "And you, Matsuda," Ryu replied, also in the same language. "You're Brazilian."

Sean nodded. "Yup," he replied, this time in surprisingly fluent English. "Born and raised in Sao Paulo. That was where Master Ken found me. He offered to train me in Ansatsuken, and I agreed. I already got a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, so martial arts training is no problem for me."

Ryu nodded. "That I noticed. You incorporated several moves into Ansatsuken."

Ken nodded. "I brought him here to meet Gouken and Gouki. They both approve of him."

Ryu scoffed. "Ken Masters finally takes on a pupil. May the Gods help us all."

"Hey! I'm not that bad of a teacher!" Ken objected. "At least I'm not like Dan. He thinks he can stop a semi with his pinky."

"I heard it was his index finger," Ryu rebutted. "Regardless, I'm taking Chun Li and Sakura out for lunch. Want to come? You could bring your student with you."

"Sure," Ken replied. He then turned to Gouken and Gouki. "Want to come along?"

"The offer is tempting," Gouken replied, "but I must decline."

"As should I," Gouki replied. "Gouken and I plan on training."

Ryu nodded. "Okay." He then turned to Sean and Sakura. "Matsuda, Kasugano, clean yourselves up and change clothes."

The two teenagers nodded and rushed off into the main house.

* * *

While they were having lunch inside a restaurant which specialized in Asian cuisine, near Hamarikyu Gardens, the two Ansatsuken masters and their trainees, along with Chun Li, ran into Cammy. Apparently, her Delta Red unit was doing a two-month stint in Japan, working at the British Embassy. Chun Li had invited her to lunch.

It was over lunch that with Ryu listening, Chun Li told Cammy, Ken, Sakura and Sean about her and Ryu's trip to China, which concluded with the run-in with Vega at Jusenkyou and at the Joketsuzoku village.

"You're serious?" Ken asked. "Vega has a Jusenkyou curse now?"

Ryu nodded. "Yup. He ambushed Chun Li when we were both resting at Jusenkyou and Chun Li took the battle to the bamboo poles. I've been teaching Chun Li the Ansatsuken techniques of aerial combat for a while and she used it on Vega, knocking him into one of the pools."

"My old sensei back in Sao Paulo told me about traveling to a place where you could get cursed by falling into one of the pools," Sean said. "I thought he was joking."

Cammy shook her head. "No. Those pools actually existed. Bison took a fancy to them. He wanted a sample of the one with the Yeti and the Ox – which one was that again?"

"Spring of Drowned Yeti-riding-Bull-carrying-Crane-and-Eel," Ryu and Chun Li said at the same time.

"So which of the pools you knocked Vega into?" Ken asked.

"_Nyannichuan_," Chun Li replied. "Spring of Drowned Girl."

"Spring of Drowned Girl?" Cammy repeated. "Are you serious? Vega turns into a girl now?" She broke out into laughter. "That's bloody rich!"

"There's more to the story," Ryu said, continuing where Chun Li left off. "You can also lock the curse with a relic known as the _Chisuton_ – the Preservation Ladle. If a cursed person or animal is splashed with cold water from the ladle while in cursed form, then they are locked in their curse. The only way to break it is by using the _Kaisufuu_ – the Liberation Kettle. However, the kettle only unlocks the curse, it doesn't cure it completely."

"Unfortunately," Chun Li added, "Vega doesn't know about that little piece of info. And unfortunately, no one knows where the kettle is, since it's been lost for many years. As for the cursed Spanish Ninja, he is currently a guest in a Chinese prison labor camp."

Cammy then turned to Ryu. "There's something I've been hearing about you, Ryu. Is it true? You're a genius?"

"It's that surprising to you?" Ryu said, enjoying the look on the blond Englishwoman's face.

"Very."

"The rumors are true, Cammy. I am a genius," Ryu admitted. "I graduated college before I turned fifteen. Up until the first World Warrior and the Zero tournaments, I've been training in various styles of martial arts that Ansatsuken was based off of to get a better understanding of my own. There is an ulterior motive in why I traveled so much. I was raising the school's credibility so when the time came, I would open up my own martial arts school. I don't plan on fighting forever. I also enjoy teaching as well."

Ken nodded. "It's true. It has been a dream of Ryu's to open up a dojo. And with Ryu's reputation he commands a great deal of admiration and respect from both friend and enemies."

This captures Chun Li's interest. "You never told me that, Ryu."

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "You didn't ask," he replied.

"Well, in that case, how would you like to go into business with me?" Chun Li suggested. "I always wanted to open a martial arts school as well. We can join forces."

"That's not a bad idea," Ryu said. "We just got to either buy some property and build the dojo, or look around and find some property big enough to hold two disciplines under one roof. And money's not a problem for me, since Ken's been looking after my finances while I was abroad."

Ken nodded. "Ryu's got some stocks in the Masters Foundation, as well as some stocks in the American and Japanese stock markets. I've been keeping a close eye on them. Even have the cash hidden inside a Swiss bank account. He's not filthy rich like my family, but he is well off."

Cammy looked at Ryu. "Bloody Hell. Chun Li, I think I may end up stealing your boyfriend."

"Sorry, Cammy, but he's mine," Chun Li replied. "Besides, I just love him for being him. I'm willing to relocate from China to live here just to be with him. Taking him back to the village would be unfair to him, given his student and his dreams. Plus, he would never forgive me for doing that to him."

"So what about your tribe's laws?" Ken asked. "You're not going to give him the Kiss of Marriage?"

Chun Li shook her head. "Of course not. That would be unfair to Ryu and he would resent me for it. Besides, he has to train Sakura for the Tokyo Regionals that's coming up in a week."

"And you can guarantee that I'll be there," a voice said.

Everyone turned to the newcomer. One which Sakura recognized immediately. A Japanese girl, around her age, with curly blonde hair held back by a bow. She was dressed in her usual red sailor fuku with black tights showing underneath her skirt.

Sakura looked up. "What do you want, Karin? Another match?"

Karin Kanzuki, heiress to the Kanzuki family fortune scoffed. "And embarrass you in front of your master and his friends? The idea is very tempting."

Sakura placed one finger to her chin in mock thought. "If memory serves, Kanzuki, you lost to me. Twice."

Karin fumed. Sakura had her dead to rights. Ever since Sakura had become Ryu's apprentice in the martial arts, Sakura's skill level had improved drastically. Sure Karin had been training harder, especially with her father teaching her some of the more advanced techniques in the Kanzuki style of fighting, but it wasn't enough. Time and time again, Sakura ended as the winner.

Karin quickly reigned in her temper. "Bah. You merely caught me on my worst days. Make no mistake, Kasugano. We will fight at the Regionals. And this time, you will not get out of losing to such greatness that is Karin Kanzuki."

While the two girls continued to argue, someone caught sight of the two girls. Actually, his eyes were on Sakura.

* * *

Flashback

_On his way back to the Tendou Dojo, Ryouga was blindsighted by the old lady splashing water on her sidewalk, triggering his curse._

_Once he managed to secure his belongings in the alley behind the Tendou Dojo, he managed to get inside...after getting lost going around the block._

_Ryouga's first stop was the dojo itself. He saw Kasumi and onna-Ranma sparring. 'Kasumi is a martial artist?' Ryouga wondered before trotting off to find Akane._

_After a brief search of the house, he found Akane in her room. She was seated at her desk, looking over a picture of Sakura she had pilfered from Nabiki's personal file. _

_Ever since her match against the Ansatsuken trainee, Akane had been itching for a rematch. She knew which school Sakura was attending, but her father had forbid her to look for her. So Akane simply bide her time, training for the day when she will face her at the tournament._

_"Bwee! Bwee!"_

_Akane looked down. "P-Chan!" she cried as she picked up the pig and place it on her desk. "Where have you been, baby? Mommy missed you."_

_P-Chan trotted around the desk. Looking down on the picture of Sakura, the cursed Lost Boy sniffed at it and snorted at it with his snout._

_"Oh, her?" Akane said, anger in her voice. "That's Sakura Kasugano. She beat me in a match of honor, P-Chan! She cheated in our match! When I see her again, I'm gonna kick her ass!"_

_That was all she managed to get out before P-Chan got off the desk and ran out of the room._

_"P-Chan? P-chan, wait!" Akane shouted._

_Too late. P-Chan was long gone. _

End Flashback

* * *

Ryouga had managed not to get himself lost as he left the Tendou home. Ryouga knew that he could not be useful to Akane as long as he was at the Tendou home. He decided on a course of action. Ranma was put on the backburner for the moment, as he found his way to the public baths and used the hot water to change back into his true form. The Lost Boy then found his stash of clothes he had left inside the bathhouse, as well as his bamboo umbrella.

His mission was clear.

Sakura Kasugano must die for making Akane mad...as well as cheating in her match.

* * *

The lunch continued between the small group of fighters. Ryu was entertaining Chun Li and the others with a story of his travels when Ryouga entered the small restaurant, having gotten lost.

It was at that moment, that he saw the cause of his ire, seated along with four other people. He drew out his heavy umbrella.

"SAKURA KASUGANO, PREPARE TO DIE!"

From her seat, Sakura turned to the source of the voice. "Now wha - WHOA!"

She was cut off just as Ryu, who was seated next to her, kicked her chair, with her still in it, sending it skidding across the floor, just as Ryouga's umbrella came crashing down where Sakura had been seconds earlier, the heavy weapon crashing through the table, destroying it as well as the assembled dishes.

Sakura fell back from her chair, rolling to her feet, just in time to see the Lost Boy heading in her direction. Kicking the chair into the air, Sakura punted the piece of furniture at Ryouga, who swatted it to the side with his umbrella.

"Why are you attacking me?!" Sakura demanded as she hopped back from another umbrella swing. "I don't even know you!"

"You insulted Akane!" Ryouga retorted. "You fought her and cheated to win in your match against her! You crossed the line, Kasugano. For that, you will die!"

Sakura kicked him in the gut, hoping that the blow would stun him. Much to her shock, the blow did nothing. Sakura dodged another umbrella swing as realization had hit her.

"Wait a second...Akane? As in Akane Tendou?" Sakura replied. "I don't know if you were there or not, but she tried to use a mallet in our match. She even tried to attack me from behind. Oh, and she sucks as a martial artist!"

"Shut up!" Ryouga shouted. "I won't let you insult Akane like that! Now die!"

Ryouga reached up and pulled several bandannas from his head. Spinning them with his free hand, he flung them at Sakura. Thinking just as quickly, the young Ansatsuken apprentice flipped over a table, turning it on its side and flipping over, using the heavy wooden table as a shield, just as Ryouga's bandannas embedded themselves into the wood.

Ryu, in the meantime, has seen enough. His student was in danger from some nutjob and he decided to step in.

Sakura saw him coming and breathed a sigh of relief. She pointed to her irate mentor, who was standing behind Ryouga. "If you want me so bad, then you'll have to speak with my sensei. He's right behind you."

Ryouga spun around, bringing the umbrella to bear. Ryu dodged the first swing effortlessly, then kicked the umbrella out of Ryouga's hand, where it landed with a **THUD** in front of Chun Li and the others, before kicking Ryouga in the chest, sending him back several steps.

While Ryu was fighting Ryouga, Sakura had made her way back to Chun Li and the others. Sean, in the meantime was inspecting the red bamboo umbrella. When he tried to pick it up, he found that it was incredibly heavy. Cammy managed to budge it, while Ken didn't even try to lift it. Only when Chun Li managed to heft the weapon with both hands, a realization coming to her.

"Whoever this guy is," Chun Li noted, "he is strong...very strong." She looked at Sakura. "Had not Ryu reacted the way he did, this guy could probably had killed you with one swing."

Sakura paled. 'This psycho nearly killed me?'

Ryu was already finding out about Ryouga's brute strength. What nearly caught Ryu off guard was when Ryouga jammed one finger into the ground, screaming out, "Bakusai Tenketsu!"

Ryu barely managed to avoid the explosion of debris. 'So he's learned the Joketsuzoku version of the Ansatsuken school's technique. The abridged version, that is. This is going to be very interesting. '

The older man sidestepped Ryouga's punch, which went through the wall. In the space of a single second, Ryu landed a barrage of 20 brutal punches into Ryouga's midsection, followed by a vicious right cross across the face, sending blood flying out of Ryouga's mouth, before kicking him out of the restaurant's front door.

As Ryu went after him, Ken apologized to the owner and promised that the Masters Foundation will compensate him for the damages. Chun Li, Sakura, Cammy and Sean rushed outside to watch the battle.

Ryouga got back to his feet, grunting in pain. 'This guy is strong!' he thought. 'and he's got some serious speed! It would take over three hundred punches from Ranma to slow me down! He did it in only twenty blows!'

Ryu reached into his back pocket and pulled out his pair of gloves. Slipping them on, Ryu watched as Ryouga pulled off several of his bandannas from his head. Spinning them in one hand, he let them fly at his opponent. Ryu rolled out of the way, just as the bandannas whizzed past him, embedding themselves into the trunk of a tree.

"Neat trick," Ryu muttered, looking at the projectiles stuck inside the tree. "But I've seen better."

That said, Ryu moved in on the offensive. Moving into his Ansatsuken stance, Ryu ducked under Ryouga's wild swing, which was followed by him parrying several of Ryouga's punches and kicks.

"Care to explain as to why you attacked my student?" Ryu asked as he caught Ryouga's wrist in an iron grip.

"Because of her," Ryouga replied as he tried to pry his fist free, "Akane has seen hell! Sakura cheated in her match! You won't stop my vengeance. Sakura will pay, for Akane's sake!"

Ryu's eyes narrowed. "You got some gall to attack my student," he drawled. "I myself have seen the video of the match, and Kasugano acted honorably. The Tendou girl tried to attack my student from behind once the match was over. You attacked my student, as well as nearly injuring my girlfriend and my friends. That I can't forgive. For crimes against my friends and against the Ansatsuken School of Martial Arts, you will pay."

Ryu's free hand slammed into Ryouga's gut, followed by an elbow, knocking the air out of the Lost Boy, which was followed by another elbow to the jaw, sending the Hibiki youth into the air. Ryu then launched a spinning back kick right into the teenager's midsection, sending him flying into the side of a tree, bouncing off the sturdy trunk before falling to the ground.

'Im...impossible!' Ryouga's mind was screaming at him. 'I should be absorbing his blows! The _Bakusai Tenketsu_ training that old hag put me through has no effect on him!'

Ryu meanly smiled. "Wondering why you're not absorbing the blows? Simple. You learned the incomplete version of the _Bakusai Tenketsu _from the Joketsuzoku. The Chinese Amazons learned it from my school hundreds of years ago. You can't win against me. Yield now and save me the trouble of sending you to the hospital."

"NEVER!" Ryouga screamed back as his green aura surrounded him.

"Suit yourself," Ryu replied, taking notice of the emotional aura surrounding his opponent. 'Green ki...he is using emotion ki. Too bad for him.'

Sure enough, Ryouga unleashed his own ki attack on Ryu. "Shishi Hokoudan!" he cried out, releasing a ball of depressing green ki.

Ryu quickly countered with his own ki attack. "Hadouken!" he responded in kind, unleashing a smaller bolt of white-and-blue ki energy.

The S_hishi Hokoudan_, or Lion's Roar Blast, met Ryu's _Hadouken_, or Surge Fist head-on. As everyone watched, the bluish-white bolt of ki smashed through Ryouga's own ki attack, causing it to dissipate harmlessly, before continuing on to the shocked Lost Boy.

Ryouga couldn't react in time. The blow caught him square in the chest and sent the Lost Boy flying. Ryouga slammed into a tree trunk before falling to the ground.

From the sidelines, Cammy, Chun Li, Ken, Sakura and Sean watched the fight unfold. They also saw how Ryu's ki blast had easily destroyed Ryouga's own ki attack with ease.

Ken nodded in understanding. "The kid is using emotional ki. I should have guessed by the green aura. Emotional ki is no match against pure, raw ki energy."

"What's the difference between using emotional ki and pure ki?" Sakura asked.

Chun Li answered for Ken. "Simple. Emotional ki drains the user. In some cases, using too much of it can easily destroy the person using it. The best way to use ki energy is not to draw on you own emotions, but use the energy surrounding you. Ryu uses raw ki, which is much more powerful than emotional ki, as does myself and Ken. If a martial artist is truly skilled in using ki energy, they can draw on the energies of mother earth herself."

"And the Ansatsuken School is very skilled in using raw ki," Ken continued. "The school specializes in using ki attacks that are elemental-based."

Chun Li and Cammy knew that Ken was right. Several of the school's signature moves indeed were elemental-based. The Surge Fist and the Hurricane Gale Kick uses the power of the winds (the exception was that Ryu's _Shakunetsu Hadouken_ uses the power of fire) and Ken's Rising Dragon Punch used the power of fire.

Ryu was going to take it one step further.

As Ryouga stumbled to a vertical base, Ryu was thinking, 'This could be the perfect time to give my new technique its test run.'

Ryu remained in his stance. Blue lightning began to appear as he slowly drew his hands back, allowing the energies to gather, the Japanese Ansatsuken warrior focusing on his target. Chun Li and the others felt the raw ki combine with the static electricity around them.

From the sidelines, Ken watched with great interest. "This is new," he said. "He's learned a new trick. I thought he was joking when he told me that he was working on a electrical-based ki attack."

It was at that moment, Ryu unleashed his final attack on Ryouga.

"Denjin...**HADOUKEN**!"

The Electric Surge Fist met its mark. Ryouga screamed as his body was ravaged with thousands of volts of electricity, giving Ryu and the spectators a good view of what his skeleton looked like before the blast sent him into low-earth-orbit, heading in the general direction of Nerima.

The fight was over, as Ryouga Hibiki vanished from sight.

* * *

Nerima Ward.

Ranma had accompanied Kasumi to the marketplace. So far, it had been an uneventful Saturday afternoon, even for the aqua-transsexual martial artist. No rivals coming to kill him. No fiancees blindsighting him. In one week, Kasumi and Akane would be competing in the Tokyo Regional Martial Arts Tournament. Unfortunately, Ranma himself would not be competing, since he did not receive an invitation. He would only be going to the tournament to make sure that both of Soun's daughters were safe...and that Akane didn't do anything stupid.

On their way back to the Tendou home, the pair had ran into Nabiki, who had just finished up a business meeting with several of her henchwomen. Akane was at a friend's house and would meet them at the family home.

Or, at least that was the plan, until Ranma and Kasumi's ki-enhanced senses caught something heading in their general direction.

And from the person's trajectory, they would crash into Nabiki, who was several steps ahead of them.

Nabiki felt two hands grab each of her shoulders. "What the – HEY!" she managed to say as both Ranma and Kasumi yanked her back, just as Ryouga's body crashed facedown into where Nabiki had stood moments earlier, creating a divot upon landing. Blue electricity arched throughout his body before fading.

"Is that Ryouga?" Nabiki blinked, her usual cool demeanor now a look of complete shock as to the condition of the Lost Boy.

Ranma looked at the twitching body. "Yup. That's Pig-boy alright. Someone's worked him over pretty good."

"Ranma-kun, whatever you do, don't touch him," Kasumi warned. "Whoever did this to Ryouga is a master of using raw ki. This is th first time that I've seen someone using elemental-laced ki energy on an opponent."

Nabiki poked at him with a stick. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked.

Ranma nodded. "He's been through worse," he admitted.

It was at that moment, Akane appeared. Seeing Ryouga on the ground, she immediately jumped to the conclusion that Ranma had beaten Ryouga to the ground.

"I told you to stop picking on Ryouga, Ranma!" Akane shouted as she drew out her mallet.

It was Kasumi that made the save before her hyper-tempered sister could mallet Ranma into the ground. Kasumi stopped the overhead swing by kicking the mallet out of Akane's hands, sending it into the canal.

"Ranma did not do this to Ryouga," Kasumi said. "You really need to work on that temper of yours, Akane."

"Why are you defending him?" Akane demanded. "You know how he likes to pick on Ryouga!"

"Actually, sis," Nabiki butted in, "Ranma had nothing to do with this. Ranma and Kasumi saved me when Ryouga came flying in from Tokyo. And since when did Ranma picks on Ryouga. Mostly, it's the other way around."

Kasumi nodded. "After all, it's always Ryouga screaming out, 'Ranma, prepare to die,' most of the time, right?"

"Whatever," Akane scoffed as she crouched over Ryouga.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Ranma, Nabiki and Kasumi shouted in unison, realizing what Akane was intending to do.

Too late.

**CRACKLE!**

"YEARGH!"

Akane let out a small scream as she touch Ryouga's shoulder in an attempt to rouse him back to consciousness. Instead, she received a small electric shock for her efforts. The shock itself stung, but it did frazzled Akane's hair, making it stand on its end.

"Never mind," Nabiki said, chuckling to herself.

Ranma and Kasumi also broke out in laughter. Embarrassed, Akane turned on her heels and stormed back to the house.

* * *

Ken's Chiyoda flat, later on.

Ryu had gotten through the match nearly unscathed. He suffered several bruises, but nothing serious. Chun Li was busy tending to his in injuries while the Ansatuken master was seated in a chair. Ken and Cammy was busy grilling his friend about his new technique that sent the Lost Boy flying.

"You combined your personal bio-electric energy with your ki?" Cammy asked. "That's blood impressive, Ryu."

Ryu nodded. "It was Blanka who taught me the secrets of bio-electricity. Back when I was training in Brazil before the last tournament, I ran into him. He used it as a self-defense mechanism. I got to admit, the wild man was onto something so I began to modify it as an offensive weapon. That was the first time that I actually used it in combat today."

"It worked," Chun Li said. "Who in the hell was that kid, anyway?"

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, Li. He shows up out of nowhere and tries to bash my student's head in with that umbrella of his. He has ties to your tribe."

"I noticed," Chun Li replied dryly. "He knows the Breaking Point. But he is definitely not Joketsuzoku. We got some foreign members of the tribe, mostly through marriage and the resulting offspring of their parents, some are honorary members like Cammy here, with all the honors of a Chinese Amazon without the complications."

"When did this happen?" Ryu asked.

"Back during the tournament," Cammy replied. "Li's grandmother found out about me helping her granddaughter during the Shadowlaw Incident and offered me a place within the tribe, complete with honors. Pretty handy when it comes to avoiding a Kiss of Death or three."

"I'll bet," Ken remarked. "Makes me glad that I wasn't with Ryu when he visited the village. Otherwise I would had a Joketsuzoku chasing after me and trying to kill Eliza."

"One thing is for sure," Ryu replied as Chun Li finished working on him, "this is far from over. That kid will show up again. And if he attacks Sakura again, then I'll send him to the hospital on a stretcher."


End file.
